U.S. State Department creates Cuba Internet Task Force

FILE PHOTO: A Cuban flag hangs on the street in downtown Havana, Cuba, April 18, 2016. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

HAVANA (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department said on Tuesday that it had created a Cuba Internet Task Force to promote "the free and unregulated flow of information" on the Communist-run island, an action denounced by Cuban state media as subversive.

"The task force will examine the technological challenges and opportunities for expanding internet access and independent media in Cuba," the agency said in a statement. It said the task force of U.S. government and non-governmental representatives would meet for the first time on Feb. 7.