"Government Ends Facebook Private Sector Partnerships, Expels Company’s Representative", 1 July 2023

After Prime Minister Hun Sen had his Facebook account suspended for threatening political opponents, the government announced … that Facebook’s representatives would be expelled from the country.

The social media site would be required to “stop all activities such as company representation, communication with the Royal Government and private sector partnerships in Cambodia,” the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications stated in a letter posted on its Facebook page.

The ministry cited “irregularities in the services of Facebook for users in Cambodia” including fake accounts, risk of private data, disinformation and “interference in the country’s political affairs.”

Hun Sen had previously warned he may shut down the entire platform’s operations in Cambodia, but in the end only deleted his own account of over 14 million followers.

… The day before, the Oversight Board of Facebook’s parent company Meta had suspended Hun Sen’s account for six months.

But the extent to which the government’s decision to cut public and private sector ties to Facebook would be enforced, and its resulting impact on Cambodians relying on Facebook for internet access and economic needs, remains unclear.

… A Meta spokesperson told CamboJA: “We don’t have any comments at this time.”

Other leading internet providers, including mobile companies Cellcard, Metfone, WiCAM and Mekong Net, did not respond to requests for comment.

In its decision to suspend Hun Sen’s account, Meta’s Oversight Board cited a January 8 speech by Hun Sen streamed on Facebook, in which the prime minister had threatened political opponents with legal action or “a stick.” …