Cuba's new Labour Code, Ley 189/2026, says in its cyber-harassment article that digital or automated surveillance systems and artificial intelligence cannot violate privacy or personal data protection or produce discriminatory treatment

What does Article 314.2 say?

In our translation, Article 314.2 says that the use of digital or automated surveillance systems, or of artificial intelligence, cannot violate privacy or the protection of personal data, nor produce discriminatory treatment, and that this is governed by the country's cybersecurity and digital governance regulations. The Spanish text is reproduced in the quotation on this page. The law is binding and, on our count, came into force around 25 September 2026.

The Spanish reads "sistemas de vigilancia digital, automatizados o la inteligencia artificial". We read "digital" and "automatizados" as two kinds of surveillance system, with artificial intelligence as a third item. Another reading is possible, and the text does not define any of the three terms.

The verb is "no puede", cannot. The paragraph names three protected interests: privacy ("la intimidad"), personal data protection, and freedom from discriminatory treatment. It does not say who is addressed. It speaks only of the use ("uso") of such systems.

Why does it matter that the sentence sits in the cyber-harassment article?

Article 314 is headed "Del ciberacoso". Paragraph 1 describes cyber-harassment at work as carried out through information and communication technologies and says it receives the treatment set by the Ministry of Communications in its regulation on the national response model for cybersecurity incidents. Paragraph 3 says that "El ciberacoso constituye una violación de la disciplina relacionada con las disposiciones específicas vigentes sobre la seguridad informática", in our translation that cyber-harassment is a breach of discipline relating to the specific provisions in force on information security.

The AI paragraph sits between those two. Article 314 belongs to Chapter II of Title IX, headed "RESPONSABILIDAD DISCIPLINARIA EN EL TRABAJO", the chapter headed "VIOLACIONES DE LA DISCIPLINA DE TRABAJO Y MEDIDAS DISCIPLINARIAS", which also defines workplace violence and harassment in Articles 312 and 313. The provision is binding and, on our count, in force since about 25 September 2026. It is one paragraph in that setting, and the Code contains no separate chapter on artificial intelligence. A keyword search of the Gazette issue found "inteligencia artificial" only at Article 314.2.

We draw no conclusion from the placement about how Article 314.2 is enforced, because the Code does not say. Article 314.2 itself carries no penalty and refers out to other regulations.

When did Ley 189 take effect?

Disposición Final SÉPTIMA says the law, together with its complementary normative provisions, "entra en vigor en un plazo de siete días posteriores a su publicación en la Gaceta Oficial de la República de Cuba", in our translation enters into force within a period of seven days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

The issue is dated "VIERNES 18 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2026". Seven days on from that is 25 September 2026. That date is our computation. The Gazette does not print it, and the text does not say whether the seven days are calendar days or how the first day is counted. The law itself is dated "a los 30 días del mes de julio 2026", when the National Assembly passed it.

Disposición Final QUINTA repeals, among other instruments, Ley 116, the Labour Code of 20 December 2013.

What does this mean for foreign investors and joint ventures?

Article 7 says that in foreign investment vehicles, foreign commercial representations based in Cuba and special development zones, labour matters follow the Code and its complementary legislation, with adaptations set by specific provisions issued for that purpose, "siempre que no afecte los derechos y garantías de los trabajadores", in our translation provided this does not affect workers' rights and guarantees. On our reading of that wording, Article 314.2, in force since about 25 September 2026 on our count, reaches those employers too, subject to any specific adaptations, which we did not review.

A second provision bears on monitoring. In the chapter on remote work and telework, Article 192.2 says that "El empleador no puede exigir la instalación de programas o aplicaciones para la utilización de grabaciones, rastreo y vigilancia en dispositivos de propiedad de la persona trabajadora", in our translation that the employer cannot require the installation of programs or applications for recording, tracking and surveillance on devices owned by the worker. That paragraph, binding on the same commencement as the rest of the Code, does not mention artificial intelligence.

For counsel, our reading is that Article 314.2 sets the standard and the cybersecurity and digital governance regulations hold the detail. A review of a workplace monitoring or AI tool in Cuba would start with those regulations, which this article does not cover.

What we did not verify

What we opened: the text of Gaceta Oficial No. 78 Ordinaria of 18 September 2026, as extracted from the official PDF. We read the masthead and summary, Articles 1 to 9 on scope, Articles 186 to 193 on remote work and telework, Title IX Chapters I and II through Article 315, and Disposiciones Finales QUINTA to SÉPTIMA with the signature block. We did not read the whole 148-page Code.

What we did not open: the cybersecurity and digital governance regulations that Article 314.2 refers to, the Ministry of Communications regulation on the national response model for cybersecurity incidents cited in Article 314.1, the specific provisions adapting the Code for foreign investment, and Decreto 179/2026 on labour contraventions and sanctions, published in the same issue, beyond a keyword search that found no reference to Article 314 or to artificial intelligence. We also did not find any official notice confirming the commencement day.

What we refuse to claim: we do not say the Code bans any AI or monitoring tool, that Article 314.2 is a general employer AI code, that a specific penalty attaches to breaching it, or that it creates a worker's right to sue. We do not present 25 September 2026 as a date printed in the law. We make no claim that this is the first provision of its kind in the region.

Translations from Spanish are our own. Quotations are copied from the Gazette text with accents kept; line-end hyphenations in the PDF, such as "discrimina-torios" in Article 314.2, are joined, and no words are changed or omitted.

Informational analysis for working professionals, not legal advice. Confirm how any rule applies to your situation with qualified counsel.

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