Phnom Penh, Cambodia — Cambodia’s long-serving, tough-talking leader, Hun Sen, said Friday he is considering banning Facebook in his country because he is fed up with the abuse he receives from his political enemies abroad. Have passed
The shutdown of Facebook for millions of Cambodian users would be the final step in last week’s intense tussle between the 70-year-old prime minister and the social media platform. He was an avid user, posting family snapshots with dire warnings to his enemies and most recently livestreaming his many, sometimes hours-long, speeches.
On Wednesday, he suddenly announced that he would no longer upload to Facebook and would instead use Telegram to deliver his message. Telegram is a popular messaging app that also has a blogging tool called “Channels”.
Hun Sen said he is making the switch because Telegram is more effective and makes it easier to communicate when he is traveling to countries that ban Facebook use – such as China, his government’s top international ally. Is. He said that although he would stop posting new content, he would maintain his Facebook page.
On Thursday, just a day before his announcement, a semi-independent review board recommended that Hun Sen’s Facebook and Instagram accounts be suspended for six months for using language that was inconsistent with the January speech. A video may have incited violence, in which he condemned opposition politicians. Who accused his ruling party of stealing votes.
The board said it reached its recommendation because of “Hun Sen’s history of violating human rights and intimidating political opponents, as well as his strategic use of social media to amplify such threats”.
The oversight board, set up three years ago by Facebook’s parent company Meta, issued its non-binding recommendation in a 26-page report. Separately, it overturned a decision by Facebook moderators that allowed video originally broadcast live to remain online. The decision to remove the video is binding on Facebook.
“At last, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen is being called out for using social media to incite violence against his opponents, and apparently They don’t like it at all.”
Facebook dared to hold her accountable to its Community Standards, Robertson said.
Within hours of the board announcing its findings, Hun Sen’s Facebook page went offline, but not on Facebook’s initiative.
Hun Sen told on Friday on his new favorite social network, the Telegram app, that he had closed his account, and threatened to be banned in Cambodia if Facebook continued to post messages from his exiled political opponents. which he considers unfair.
He said in a live video that he would order a temporary or permanent ban if his enemies continued to attack him on Facebook, but he was reluctant to do so because such a move would harm not only his 14 million followers, but all Cambodian Facebook users will be affected. ,
He also complained that Facebook has acted unfairly, as it has never taken punitive action against his detractors, while they sometimes use extreme language to attack him.
Facebook’s response to the oversight board’s report, released Thursday night, included a brief statement welcoming its findings and saying it would comply with Hun Sen’s decision to remove the January speech.
It said it would review the board’s recommendations, including the suspension of Hun Sen’s accounts. The guidelines call for public feedback on the recommendations within 60 days – although if the account is removed, that issue could be contentious.
Two levels of Facebook moderators declined to recommend action against Hun Sen, first noting that he did not violate Meta’s Community Standards guidelines against violence and incitement.
They prohibit “threats that may result in death” and “threats that cause serious injury”, including “statements of intent to commit violence”.
On appeal, a senior group of arbitrators ruled that despite the provocative nature of the comments, Hun Sen’s status as a national leader made his comments newsworthy and therefore not subject to punishment.
Three external users appealed to the board to review the moderator’s decisions, as did Meta.
Social media critics have repeatedly raised concerns that political leaders are using social media in a way that can inflame and incite violence in countries such as India and Myanmar. Due to such concerns former US President Donald Trump was temporarily suspended from Facebook.
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Peck reported from Bangkok. AP technology writer Barbara Ortute in San Francisco contributed to this story.
