"Online platforms must reject Cambodia prime minister’s incitement to violence", 3 July 2023

…, Meta’s Oversight Board directed that the Facebook and Instagram accounts of Cambodia’s longest serving prime minister, Hun Sen, be immediately suspended, deeming that he had made “unequivocal statements of intent to commit violence against his political opponents.” While Access Now welcomes Hun Sen’s expulsion from the Meta-owned channels, overturning earlier decisions by Meta staff allowing him to continue on their services, we urge other online platforms to remain alert to similar incendiary behavior from the Cambodian prime minister, and to take steps to prevent further spread of his unacceptable behavior across the internet.

Hun Sen’s administration has a history of pressuring online platforms and telecommunications providers to allow him to intimidate and incite violence against members of the … opposition, civil society, journalists, and human rights defenders. Following the Board’s decision, Hun Sen left Facebook of his own volition, threatening to block the platform in Cambodia and to prevent exiled political opposition members from using it. Access Now is concerned that Hun Sen will simply relocate his violent and hateful rhetoric to other platforms, such as Telegram and TikTok…

… Telegram and TikTok must immediately strengthen their content moderation practices and embed human rights safeguards within their content policies, to prevent their platforms from being abused to facilitate violations of the rights to life, liberty and security of the person, and the freedoms of expression and association. Golda Benjamin, Asia-Pacific Campaigner at Access Now …

Access Now also urges TikTok and Telegram to meaningfully and continuously engage with Cambodian, as well as international, civil society, journalists, opposition politicians, and human rights defenders…