PHNOM PENH: Former Prime Minister Hun Sen officially returned to Facebook over the weekend after quitting the platform before Meta deliberated on its Oversight Board’s recommendation that his account be suspended for inciting violence against political opponents. Meta officially rejected the recommendation on August 29, which the government celebrated as a victory for the integrity of the information and content shared on the former prime minister’s Facebook page.

Hun Sen returned with a Facebook post on September 3, announcing, "I decided to use Facebook alongside Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, Telegram, and Instagram, after Facebook rejected the recommendations of the corrupt group [Oversight Board] and gave me justice.”

He hopes Facebook will adhere to a code of ethics and not follow in the footsteps of the Oversight Board, which he accused of being a corrupt group of people who are not welcome in Cambodia. The Oversight Board is legally independent from Facebook and is comprised of professors, human rights expects and journalists, who act as a sort of “Supreme Court” for Facebook content. In June, the 22-member board recommended the former PM’s account be suspended because of a video on his page which they say incited violence against any political opponents who suggested his party had stolen votes in the previous election.

With Facebook being one of the primary forms of online shopping in Cambodia, the former PM said he hopes the platform will be able to earn over $200 million per year in Cambodia.

In the same post he continued his plea to those who have created accounts under his name on Facebook and Tiktok to delete their accounts so as to avoid any confusion.