Stories about Cambodia
Cambodia’s internet gateway could intensify surveillance and censorship
"Government surveillance cultivates an environment of fear, creating incentives for self-censorship and directly undermining the ability of journalists and human rights defenders to undertake their work."
Online journalist detained for quoting Cambodian prime minister’s advice on COVID-19
"The Covid-19 crisis must not be used as pretext for getting rid of journalists who do not blindly toe the government line."
Facebook seller wearing ‘sexy clothes’ charged with pornography in Cambodia
"Punishing women for their choice of clothing is part of the root cause of violence, rather than its cure, and must be rejected.”
Netizen Report: Journalists are under fire from Cambodia to Cuba — and beyond
Across the globe, journalists are facin charges of everything from espionage to tax evasion.
What will it take to combat digital authoritarianism in Southeast Asia?
"Applied to the Philippines and the rest of Southeast Asia, digital authoritarianism refers to how the internet has been weaponized in aid of existing authoritarian regimes."
Netizen Report: New rules in Cambodia and Tanzania force independent media to quiet down — or shut down altogether
The Advox Netizen Report offers an international snapshot of challenges, victories, and emerging trends in Internet rights around the world.
Cambodia's last independent news site sold to PR firm that worked for the ruling party
"Our editor-in-chief was fired because he stood up for independent journalism and refused to take down an article shedding light on our new publisher."
Facebook's ‘Explore Feed’ Experiment Is Hurting Small Businesses, NGOs, and Political Groups in Cambodia
"By slicing news out of people’s feeds....Facebook has cut off a source of information for millions of Cambodians."
Cambodia Daily Closes Down After Government Threatened It with Hefty Tax Bill
"Cambodia lost a significant aspect of its media diversity. It lost a training ground for a generation of Khmer journalists. It lost a beacon of free speech."
Cambodia Shutdown of Media Outlets: Tax and Licensing Issue or Censorship?
"It appears that the Cambodian government has been using legal technicalities to hide behind its real aim of silencing independent voices."
Southeast Asian Leaders Use ‘Fake News’ to Justify Tighter Media Laws and Intimidate Their Critics
Singapore plans to update its Broadcasting Act, Philippine House Speaker is proposing to regulate social media, and Cambodian officials are mimicking Donald Trump by calling unfavorable news "fake".
Netizen Report: That Time When the Internet in Ecuador Died
Ecuador weathers a sudden mass Internet outage, insulting Tanzania's president proves costly, Twitter gets settled unsettlingly in China, and more.
Cambodian Human Rights Group Criticizes Telecoms Law
Some observers suspect that the law reflects the ruling party's desire to stifle online discussions as elections approach in 2017 and 2018.
Netizen Report: Medium Stands Up for Malaysian Investigative Journalists
The Malaysian government is now blocking the blogging platform Medium, in an apparent effort to censor the Malaysian investigative news organization Sarawak Report.
The Troubling Rise of Internet-Related Arrests in Cambodia
"They do plainly illustrate a deeply troubling trend, whereby those who criticize the political elite are routinely being arrested for expressing their views on social media."
Blocking Facebook: A Hot New Trend in Southeast Asia?
More and more governments in Southeast Asia are becoming aggressive in their efforts to block Facebook, especially during crisis moments. Netizens should respond by remaining vigilant.
Cambodia’s Cyber Bill Undermines Internet Freedom From Every Angle
Cambodian netizens and human rights groups are speaking out against the government’s anti-cybercrime bill, which could lead to harsh penalties for online criticism, stricter Internet regulation, and social media censorship.
Why was Facebook Blocked in Cambodia?
On August 7, Facebook was inaccessible in Cambodia for several hours. Government officials and ISPs claimed that the blockage resulted from technical complications, but media freedom groups remained suspicious of a foul play by authorities.
Southeast Asia: Sex and web censorship
Regulating internet content today is viewed as an anti-democratic practice but Southeast Asian governments seem able to justify it by invoking the need to save the young from the scourge of indecent sexual behavior.
OpenNet Initiative Releases Results on Filtering in Asia
From the Great Firewall to the Myanmar Wide Web, Asia is well-known for its practices in Internet filtering. China has long taken the lead in blocking Web sites, filtering sites across the spectrum – from social to political content, pornography to Internet tools. The OpenNet Initiative (full disclosure: I'm involved)...
