Havana, June 5 (RHC)-- After approval by the National Assembly of People's Power in 2023 and publication today in the Official Gazette, Cuba has a Social Communication Law, unprecedented in its history.

Regarding the origins of the rule and the precepts and challenges that its entry into force will bring, Humberto Fabián Suárez, member of the Editorial Commission and president of the Country Brand Council, explained that one of the regulations - specifically Decree 102 - that compose recognizes and establishes the exercise of advertising and sponsorship, a novelty in the last 70 years in the country.

Those of us who participated in the drafting of the Law carried out an extensive study in terms of advertising before the triumph of the Revolution and also analyzed foreign cases, highlighted Fabián Suárez.

He commented that to understand this decree it is necessary to refer to the regulations in the first instance, since they define who are the actors in advertising in Cuba, including advertisers, the media, agencies and creatives.

The use of advertisements and promotions on radio, television, print and digital press is addressed, as well as prohibitions and errors that should not be incurred, he noted.

Advertising and sponsorship in Cub, which has gone through several periods, did not have regulations before the Law, which was necessary for economic actors to make their products, brands and services known, he noted. a

In the national territory, the first of both disciplines has a commercial meaning, while propaganda is carried out for political purposes, clarified Fabián Suárez.

The Cuban Social Communication Law, said the expert, establishes regulations on influencers or opinion leaders on social networks, and advocates for the responsible use of information and communications technologies and tools such as artificial intelligence.

In the case of Decree 102, there is also the duty of organizations and institutions to comply with its precepts, as well as administrative responsibility for infractions, applicable measures and appeals, he highlighted.

Within the field of advertising, advertising related to the protection of children, adolescents, young people, women, older adults and people with disabilities is regulated, said Fabián Suárez.

Promotion and sales advertisements on product packaging, and those referring to environmental protection, sports, tourism, banking services, food (with high levels of sodium, fat, calories and alcoholic beverages), tobacco and cigarettes , medicines, on billboards on public roads and in electronic commerce, will be the object of the keen gaze of specialists, he emphasized.

According to Rosa María Pérez Gutiérrez, president of the Cuban Association of Social Communicators, the regulations that appear this Wednesday in the Official Gazette legitimizes important actors in the communication field in Cuba, including public relations specialists.

It has an inclusive approach because it seeks to ensure that each actor, whether state or not, assumes responsibility for careful attention to all people and respect for differences, she stated.

With the Law we must contribute to the education of the masses and the improvement of professionals who are dedicated to communication, said Pérez Gutiérrez.

Ricardo Ronquillo Bello, president of the Union of Journalists of Cuba (UPEC), noted that this legal apparatus reflects the struggles and aspirations of the national press sector for several years.

Although it is approved in a complex communication context for the largest of the Antilles, without the Law there would have been no progress in the editorial, economic and technological transformation of various media in the country.

The regulations are the legal umbrella that protects the archipelago's communication system at the time of its most profound changes, said Ronquillo Bello.

We do not intend to immediately have a media apparatus for socialism, but educational, cultural and awareness-raising work is required at all levels of Cuban society, since it is the responsibility of both political, governmental and state decision-makers as well as citizens, he stressed. 

He considered that the legal regulations contribute to the democratic conception of the socialist model in the country, especially in the search for popular control where human beings are the center.

The Social Communication Law will come into force 120 days after its publication in the Official Gazette.  (Source: ACN)