PHNOM PENH: Prime Minister Hun Sen backtracked his previous idea about shutting down Facebook in Cambodia and announced that there will be no ban. However, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications did take action to expel Facebook representatives from Cambodia.

In a Telegram voice message on the night of June 30, the Prime Minister stated that he decided to delete his Facebook page due to a large number of fake accounts and security issues on the platform. He also said he deleted his page in response to Meta's move to suspend his Facebook account for six months, which Meta’s oversight board said threatened political violence.

He accused the Meta Company of being biased, and said that the opposition used provocative, warlike and insulting language against the King, but the company did not take any action against them. He added that he does not need to rely on Facebook to communicate with the people as other social media platforms are available.

"Now my social media posts will no longer be interrupted by Facebook," he said. “As of today, I do not have to abide by Facebook rules. Former US President Donald Trump was also suspended from Facebook. As for me, there’s no need to suspend my account. I canceled it myself while the Facebook board of directors made their decision on whether or not to suspend me. There is nothing to suspend if I do not have it".

He also warned his opponents that they did not fully understand and know him and could not do him any harm. He said that they took the opportunity to cause problems between him and his people. Because they cannot see eye-to-eye with the Prime Minister, they will not be able to enter Cambodia.

He confirmed that Facebook will not be shut down in Cambodia. However, the state can take measures to expel representatives of the company in the country, which is exactly what happened. Later that same day, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications announced it would be expelling Cambodia’s Facebook representative and suspending any corporate dealings with the company. In a statement issued on June 30, the ministry wrote, "We decided to expel the Facebook representative from Cambodia and to stop all activities such as company representation, communication with the Royal Government and private sector partnerships in the Kingdom of Cambodia from now on."