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U.S. says it is working with private sector and Congress on internet for Cuba – Metro US

U.S. says it is working with private sector and Congress on internet for Cuba

FILE PHOTO: People connect to the internet at a hotspot
FILE PHOTO: People connect to the internet at a hotspot in a public park in Havana

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States is working with the private sector and Congress to look for ways to make the internet more accessible to the people of Cuba, U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price told a regular news briefing on Tuesday.

Price made the comment while calling on the Cuban government to restore full internet and telecommunications to the Cuban people following a wave of anti-government protests.

“We will be actively collaborating with our private sector partners to identify ways that may in fact be creative to ensure the Cuban people have access to the free flow of information on the internet,” Price said.

The White House said earlier that President Joe Biden would form a working group to examine remittances to Cuba in the wake of the protests on the island to determine how those residing in the United States can send money to the country.

State Department officials told Reuters on Monday the United States was expected to announce initial steps soon as part of the Biden administration’s review of Cuba policy and in response to Havana’s crackdown on what have been the biggest street protests in decades.

(Reporting by Simon Lewis, David Brunnstrom and Mohammad Zargham, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien/Mark Heinrich)