DigiActive.org

Tactic: Flash Drive Activism in Cuba

Written by Mary on March 10, 2008 – 4:18 am -

Description: In Cuba, where Internet use is strictly curtailed (there is only one legal cybercafé in Old Havana and home connections are illegal), activists spread digital content from computer to computer using flash drives.  This creative work-around demonstrates that digital activism is possible even in places where the traditional means of such activism - the Internet - is unavailable.

Organizer: This activity centers around the University of Information Sciences, the top computer science school.

Purpose of Action: To use computers to share politically- sensitive digital video and content despite the inability to connect to the Internet.

Organizing Tools: the humble (yet mighty) flash drive, digital cell phone video.

Outcome: Even the lack of Internet connections has not stopped digital activists in Cuba.

Ease of Replication: Flash drives are increasingly affordable and easy to use and, in the absence on an Internet connection (or in the presence of heavy filtering and surveillance) they are a practical alternative way to share digital content.

Excerpts from the New York Times’ article Cyber-Rebels in Cuba Defy State’s Limits:

Last month, students at a prestigious computer science university videotaped an ugly confrontation they had with Ricardo Alarcón, the president of the National Assembly…. The video spread like wildfire through Havana, passed from person to person, and seriously damaged Mr. Alarcón’s reputation in some circles.

Something similar happened in late January when officials tried to impose a tax on the tips and wages of employees of foreign companies. Workers erupted in jeers and shouts when told about the new tax, a moment caught on a cellphone camera and passed along by memory sticks.

“It passes from flash drive to flash drive,” said Ariel, 33, a computer programmer…. “This is going to get out of the government’s hands because the technology is moving so rapidly.”

Cuban officials have long limited the public’s access to the Internet and digital videos, tearing down unauthorized satellite dishes and keeping down the number of Internet cafes open to Cubans. Only one Internet cafe remains open in Old Havana, down from three a few years ago. Read more…

image credit: Mary Joyce (DigiActive)

Tags: cellphonevideo, censorship, cuba, flashdrive, memorystick
Posted in Americas, Flash Drives, Mobile Phones, Tactics, Video |