Cambodia expelled Facebook representative, announced to stop all activities, why?

Cambodia's Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications announced that it will expel Facebook representatives and stop all activities such as company representation, government relations and private sector partnerships in Cambodia from June 30, 2023. Prime Minister Hun Sen also announced the closure of the Facebook page with more than 14 million followers.

Thủ tướng Campuchia Hun Sen có hơn 14 triệu người theo dõi trên trang fanpage Facebook.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has more than 14 million followers on his Facebook fanpage.

Fresh News quoted a press release issued on the evening of June 30 stating: “The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications of Cambodia would like to inform the public that the Ministry has reviewed irregularities in the Facebook service provided to users in Cambodia, such as the creation of fake accounts, risks to privacy, use and collection of private data, dissemination of false information, lack of accountability and transparency, as well as interference in the country's political affairs.”

Therefore, the Ministry decided to expel Facebook representatives from Cambodia and stop all activities as company representatives, relationships with the government as well as private sector partnerships in Cambodia from this point on.

Meanwhile, according to a special voice message sent the same day, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen announced that he would not close Facebook in the country due to people's needs.

The Cambodian leader said he decided to close his Facebook page due to abuse of his account with fake posts. He added that the decision to cancel his account was in response to Meta, Facebook ’s parent company, suspending his page for six months.

Prime Minister Hun Sen expressed dissatisfaction with the Meta Supervisory Council for its bias when the opposition used provocative and insulting language towards the King, but Meta did not take any action.

Prime Minister Hun Sen said he has used other social networks to send messages to the people, so he is no longer dependent on Facebook.

He also said that his followers can connect to the new account on Telegram . Explaining the reason for switching to this network, the Cambodian Prime Minister said that this social network is more effective in communication and has a higher level of security than Facebook .

Source