The Cambodian government acted to exercise almost complete control over the country’s online life on Wednesday, establishing a national internet portal that, according to activists, will stifle free speech and block content through a Chinese-style firewall.
Cambodia has seen a rapid increase in internet use in recent years, and Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government – which dissolved the main opposition party in 2017 – has stepped up crackdown on online dissidents.
A government spokesman dismissed concerns about the gateway (NIG), a system that will channel all international internet connections through a single entry point, saying it would prevent online crime and promote “national interests”.
But Phay Siphan also told AFP that officials “are going to destroy (Internet) users who want to create a rebellion” against the government.
A sub-decree signed by Hun Sen and obtained by AFP on Wednesday said that the NIG would control web connections in order to increase “national revenue collection, to protect national security and preserve social order”.
He instructed the portal operator to work with Cambodian authorities “to take steps to block and disconnect any network connections” that are considered to be contrary to these goals or that violate “morality, culture, traditions and customs”.
The operator will be required to send reports on Internet traffic regularly to the 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 establishment of the NIG is of great concern for the future of fundamental human rights in Cambodia,” she said, adding that “it will become another instrument for the Cambodian Royal Government to control and monitor the flow of information in Cambodia.”
Ith Sothoeuth, director of the Cambodian Center for Independent Media, said the document’s vague language gives the power to block critical comments from the government.
“It’s worrying,” he said.
Comparisons have been made with China’s “Great Firewall”, which deploys a vast and sophisticated state of surveillance to eliminate Internet dissent and prevent citizens from accessing international social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter.
Internet subscriptions in Cambodia have skyrocketed in 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 oldest leaders, maintaining a 36-year hold on power with methods that critics say include the arrest of political opponents and activists.
suy / reb / leg