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Meta Will Not Penalize Hun Sen’s Facebook Account, Oversight Board Members Still Banned

  • Posted Aug 30, 2023 10:59 by Kristen Winters
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PHNOM PENH: After considering suspending former Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Facebook account in June, Meta ultimately decided against taking action in an announcement made on August 29. The Royal Government celebrated the decision and says it “confirms the integrity of the information and content” on the former PM’s Facebook page, which was nearly suspended for inciting violence against his political opponents.

Former Prime Minister Hun Sen enjoyed a large following on Facebook with 14 million followers in a country with a population of 16.5 million. His relationship with the platform turned sour in June when Meta’s Oversight Board, which is run independently from Meta, reviewed a speech he had posted in January and said it violated the platform’s policies.

According to the Oversight Board’s review of the speech, “The use of terms such as “bat” and ‘sending gangsters to [your] house’ or ‘legal action’ including midnight arrests amounts to incitement of violence and legal intimidation.”

On June 29, Hun Sen preemptively deleted his Facebook account, saying that the platform was biased. “I canceled it myself while the Facebook Board of Directors make their decision on whether or not to suspend me. There is nothing to suspend if I do not have it,” he said. The government went on to ban all 22 members of the Oversight Board from Cambodia.

Three months later, on August 29, Meta officially rejected the Oversight Board’s recommendation, saying it would, “not be consistent with our policies, including our protocol on restricting accounts of public figures during civil unrest.”

Cambodia’s Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications congratulated Meta on its decision and said that while it will allow Facebook representatives to resume work in Cambodia, the 22 members of Meta’s Oversight Board are still banned from the country for making a recommendation that the ministry says was “political in nature, and interfered with Cambodia’s internal affairs.”

A spokesperson for the Oversight Board said it “stands by its original decision and urges Meta to do everything in its power to deter public figures who exploit its platforms to incite violence.”


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