The Cambodian government on Wednesday exercised almost total control over online life in the country and set up a national internet gateway that activists say would stifle freedom of expression and block content via a firewall in China.
Cambodia has seen a rapid increase in internet use over the past few years, and Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government – which disbanded the main opposition party in 2017 – has intensified opposition to online discord.
A government spokesman dismissed concerns about the gateway (NIG), a system that would divert all international internet connections through a single entry point, saying it would prevent crime online and promote ‘national interests’.
But Phay Siphan also told AFP the authorities “will destroy the (internet) users who want to create rebellion against the government.
A sub-resolution signed by Hun Sen and obtained by AFP on Wednesday states that the NIG will control web connections to improve “national revenue collection, national security protection and social order”.
It instructed the operator of the gate to work with the Cambodian authorities to take actions to block and disconnect the network connections deemed to violate these objectives, or to “morality, culture, traditions and customs” violate.
The operator will be required to submit regular reports on internet traffic to authorities.
Chak Sopheap, executive director of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, said the NIG would facilitate mass surveillance through the interception and censorship of digital communications and the collection of personal data.
“The founding of the NIG is very concerned about the future of fundamental human rights in Cambodia,” she said, adding that “it will become another tool for the Royal Government of Cambodia to control and control the flow of information in Cambodia. monitor’.
Ith Sothoeuth, director of the Cambodian Center for Independent Media, said the vague language in the document gave him the power to comment critically on the government.
“It’s worrying,” he said.
Comparisons have been made with China’s “Great Firewall”, which uses an extensive and sophisticated surveillance state to investigate the Internet of Controversy, and which prevents citizens from accessing international social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
Internet subscriptions in Cambodia have risen over the past decade, from 5 million in 2014 to 20.3 million last year, according to government statistics.
Facebook is the most popular social media platform in Cambodia with almost 11 million users.
Hun Sen is one of the world’s longest-serving leaders and maintains a 36-year grip on power with methods that critics say include political opponents and activists.
suy / reb / been