The Campaign for Accountability, one of whose mission's is to hold Big Tech's feet to the fire, was roasting Google Friday in a report on its international activities.

CFA, whose endeavor's include the Google Transparency Project, is arguing the company was not particularly transparent about trips to Cuba, North Korea and elsewhere.

In a report entitled Google's Diplomatic Edge, the project says the company was advancing its business interests while claiming the trips were only for philanthropic or educational purposes.

For example, says the report, when Google's top execs flow to Cuba in 2014, it told Treasury, which was enforcing the U.S. embargo--that it was there for “no commercial purpose, and Google has no plans to conduct any business activities while in Cuba, calling it academic research, according to documents the project says it obtained.

And yet, says the report, "Less than two months after their return, Google announced that its web browser, Chrome, would be available in Cuba for the first time. A few months later, Google further expanded its product offering in Cuba, making available its Google Play app store and Google Analytics user-tracking software for Cuban websites."

The two could have been unrelated, but the Project suggests the contacts from that trip "opened the door" to those and other deals, culminating in an agreement "to wire-up the island with internet hotspots and connect it to the mainland via one," and, as recently as Thursday (March 28) "a peering agreement "to connect their networks through a new, physical link."

"Google’s travel applications, combined with the pattern of deals and announcements made in the wake of the trip, raise questions about whether the company was forthright in its true motives for sending its executives to the island," the report said.

The report finds similar issues with trips to North Korea and elsewhere pitched to the U.S government as other than pursuing business opportunities abroad.

Google had not returned a request for comment at press time, but Google did tell Treasury when pitching the trip that it was looking to understand the “autocratic and ghastly approach to free speech, and to map out a way to dismantle it.” 

GOP presidential candidate and Texas senator Ted Cruz wants the Congress to block the FCC from preempting state laws related to government provision of Internet access services or loosening communications restrictions on Cuba.

That is according to a copy of a raft of proposed amendments to a couple of FCC-related bills being marked up in the Senate Commerce Committee April 27.

On the FCC Process Reform Act, Cruz and Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) are jointly proposing the amendment to rein in the FCC's preemption of state laws limiting municipal broadband buildouts. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler says those laws are pushed by incumbents to prevent price and service competition and the FCC has stepped in to preempt state laws in Tennessee and North Carolina. The FCC is currently in a court battle over that decision.

The amendment, according to the amendment list obtained by Multichannel News/B&C, "Prohibits the FCC form preventing states from implementing  laws relating to provision of broadband Internet access service by state and local governments."

Cruz is also looking to bulk up the FCC Reauthorization Act of 2016 (S. 2644) with a couple of amendments targeted at Administration efforts to ease restrictions on Cuba (Cruz's father, Rafael, was tortured and imprisoned in Cuba [during the Batista regime], according to the candidate).

The First would overturn the FCC's order removing Cuba from the "exclusion list."

In January, the FCC removed Cuba from that very short list--Cuba was actually the only country on the list--as part of the larger Administration effort to reestablish diplomatic ties to the island nation.

The FCC action meant that U.S. telecoms can provide Internet and phone service to Cuba without seeking a separate approval from the FCC. Those telecoms will be able to get authority more easily, says the FCC, or those already with authority to deploy won't need an additional sign-on from the commission.

Cruz also wants to block the FCC from launching a Cuba-related rulemaking about "certain nondiscrimination requirements relating to Cuba.

Those are just some of a boatload of amendments being teed up for the two bills. Others include 1) a GAO study on the IP transition, 2) a review of "certain media ownership rules," 3) a report on the incentive auction repack, 4) a small business exemption (fewer than 250,0000 subs) from the enhanced transparency rule in the Open Internet order (a similar waiver has already passed the House); 5) a GAO report on waste and overbuilding in the E-rate program, 6) a requirement that the FCC include a disclaimer when making a public statement about a notice of apparent liability, 7) a requirement that it publish complaints on a publicly available Web site, 8) a requirement that the GAO report on "issues" related to the National Broadband Map, 9) permitting NTIA to authorize Federal agencies to "accept certain payments related to spectrum efficiency and reallocation," an FCC report on "the use of certain proceeds from a competitive bidding process; 10) a requirement that the FCC report on any auctions it expects to conduct in succeeding 12-month periods; 11) a requirement that a member of the FCC sign any "compulsory" process or request for documents, information or testimony "in support of an investigation or inquiry," and 12) a report on "delays in processing broadband license applications."

When President Obama sets foot in Cuba this week — the first U.S. president to do so in 88 years — it will signal a change in relations between the two countries that will extend way beyond opening the island nation as a tourism destination.

The barrier is crumbling between the U.S. and one of its closest geographical neighbors. We stand at the brink of a new era in which airlines, banks and manufacturers stand shoulder to shoulder with telecommunications companies, program providers and technology innovators to open a new and different age in commerce and human relationships with our Caribbean neighbor.

I can say, from first-hand experience, that our company’s relationship with Cuba, its people and its home broadcaster has been a journey of surprises and delights. Cuba’s people want to retain their identity and I can’t think of a more important way to share their unique cultural values than to reveal their art, literature, music and sports via TV programming to the United States.

Throughout recent history, whenever a seismic shift occurs in our relationships around the world, the cable television industry has been a major player, communicating the spirit of celebration by giving voice and personality revealing an untold side for a segment of the world’s population.

We are invited to watch from our living room sofas here in the U.S. as change happens. This year, cable TV again has the opportunity to observe and uncover the emerging dialog between our two countries. I can’t think of any industry that is more powerful in provoking our nation’s curiosity in the world around us, or in opening our eyes and our hearts to it.

With President Obama’s historic island visit, the cable industry has the opportunity again to be a part of a vibrant new dialog, delivering to U.S. citizens the untold story of life in Cuba. I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait.

Lilian Samata is chief operating officer of CubaNetwork, a multi-platform and linear channel delivering original Cuban programming in both English and Spanish.

Image of Havana used under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 Germany

Discovery Channel will travel to Cuba for its latest car-themed scripted series.

Cuban Chrome, premiering July 13, will examine the collection and celebration of classic American cars by Cubans since the 1959 Cuban Revolution and subsequent United States embargo made it illegal to import American cars to the island nation, according to network officials.

The series, the first U.S. series shot entirely on location in Cuba, is produced by Pilgrim Studios and will be simulcast in English on Discovery Channel and in Spanish on Discovery en Español, said the network.

Netflix has launched its over-the-top video service in Cuba.

Starting today (Feb. 9), people in Cuba who have Internet connections and access to international payment methods will be able to subscribe to Netflix and instantly watch a curated selection of films, TV shows and original Netflix content, the company said. Subscriptions start at $7.99.

Netflix's Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning series House of Cards and Orange Is the New Black are among the company's original series to be available to viewers in Cuba, alongside kids shows such as DreamWorks Animation's All Hail King Julien and The Adventures of Puss in Boots, and Academy Award-nominated original documentaries such as Virunga and The Square.

Netflix first offered service in Latin Amrica in 2011 and has about 5 million subscribers across the region.

"We are delighted to finally be able to offer Netflix to the people of Cuba, connecting them with stories they will love from all over the world," said Netflix co-founder and CEO Reed Hastings. "Cuba has great filmmakers and a robust arts culture, and one day we hope to be able to bring their work to our global audience."