New Cuban decree tightens controls on social media, sparking outrage

FILE PHOTO: People carry a poster with photographs of Cuba's late President Fidel Castro, Cuba's President and First Secretary of the Communist Party Miguel Diaz-Canel and Cuba's former President and First Secretary of the Communist Party Raul Castro during a rally in Havana, Cuba, July 17, 2021. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuba introduced tighter controls on the use of social media this week, including a ban on publications that might damage "the country's prestige," angering many citizens and international rights activists.

Decree 35, published in the official gazette on Tuesday, comes a month after the most widespread anti-government protests https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/street-protests-break-out-cuba-2021-07-11 in the Communist-run country in decades, which spread in part due to information shared on social media.