The internet shutdown during the July 11 protests
How access restrictions made it harder for Cubans to share information and document the government response.
As peaceful demonstrations spread on July 11, the Cuban government took another consequential step: access to the internet and major communication platforms was restricted.
These restrictions made it harder for people to coordinate, share information about gatherings, and publish recordings of arrests or abuse.
One telecommunications provider
ETECSA is the country’s sole telephone and internet provider. That concentration gives the state extraordinary control over communications infrastructure.
BBC reporting at the time described Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Telegram as restricted through ETECSA’s servers, citing internet-monitoring organization NetBlocks.
BBC News: Cuba protests and internet restrictions ↗Why the shutdown mattered
For demonstrators and their families, connectivity was not merely a convenience. It was the principal way to tell the outside world what was happening, locate people after arrests, and preserve evidence recorded on personal phones.
The restrictions also exposed a broader issue: communications in Cuba are not governed by an open, competitive network. The state can use its control of infrastructure to limit political expression at precisely the moment public scrutiny matters most.
Read the broader July 11 timeline or continue to the record of people missing and detained after the demonstrations.