US ambassador defends net freedoms, Cambodia Condemned Over Legal Threat Against Social Media Users

[geovalin]

Charles Parkinson and May Titthara

US Ambassador William Todd has called for internet freedom in Cambodia to be guaranteed, just days after a government spokesman said social media users who publicly attack officials should be prosecuted.

In an apparent response to that statement, Todd pointed out in his weekly column that US President Barack Obama had opened a Twitter account within the past week and chosen not to delete it or restrict access, despite some users aiming heavy criticism at him.

Explaining why reacting to such criticism was unwise, Todd quoted US Secretary of State John Kerry from a speech last week on cybersecurity: “Repression does not eliminate the speech we hate. It just forces it into other avenues – avenues that often can become more dangerous than the speech itself that people are fighting.”

Civil society representatives have warned that net freedom is imperilled by a proposed law governing the internet.

Meanwhile, last week, Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan called for legal action against anyone insulting the dignity of officials, a call he said was driven by unreasonable attacks made against him and other officials online.

Siphan yesterday defended his statements, suggesting that Todd would not be so amenable to the abuse if he or his family was on the receiving end.

“Does William Todd want that for his wife, his daughter, himself?” he asked.

According to Siphan, the government favours free expression, as long as it does not spread lies or infringe on the dignity of others.

“That is not just for members of the CPP or the government, but everyone,” he said.

Todd’s column was published on Sunday, just a week after he was called “insolent” by the government after commenting on the controversial draft NGO law. Todd responded in this Sunday’s column, saying, “I look forward to continued discussion in the days and weeks to come.”

Meanwhile, in a statement yesterday, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications sought to dampen criticism of the draft cybercrime law, saying it was too early for such critiques.

“Debating and judging the draft, which is in the process of information gathering, is like tasting food without ingredients,” the statement said.

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/us-ambassador-defends-net-freedoms

+++++++++

Cambodia’s opposition party, a nongovernmental organization and several netizens have slammed Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government over its threat of legal action against people who criticize officials on social media networks, saying the move restricts freedom of speech.

Last week, government spokesman Phay Siphan sent letters to the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Post and Telecommunication calling on them to pursue court action against internet users who are deemed to “insult” or “defame” civil servants and high-ranking government officials.

Phay Siphan has said the measure would be aimed at “immoral” users of social media and those who spread rumors to attack officials, but critics told RFA’s Khmer Service the move is meant to intimidate internet users and has no place in a democratic society.

Ny Chariya, director of the human rights investigation unit for local rights group ADHOC, said the threat of legal action was “politically motivated” and meant to eliminate online criticism of the government.

“When freedom of speech is restricted in a country, that country is no longer democratic, and I believe that constructive comments and criticism should be considered highly valued by officials for the improvement of society,” he said.

Yem Punharith, a spokesperson for the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) told RFA that an increasing number of Cambodians are using the internet to share news and information and called on the government to broaden online freedoms.

“The government should expand the use of social networks for the younger generation,” he said.

“We should broaden this space, rather than restrict it, for the overall benefit of the country.”

Netizens also hit out against the government threat of legal action against social media users.

Facebook user Heng Pisith told RFA that because government officials are public figures, the public has the right to offer them constructive criticism.

“Public figures should accept criticism from the public in order to further develop themselves,” he said.

Netizen Chea Sideth said social media users are better at disseminating news information online than the local news media in Cambodia and urged the government to accept criticism posted on the internet.

“I call on all officials—especially Phay Siphan—to embrace social media because it is beneficial for the government,” he said.

“Government officials can use this information to get a better sense of the impact of their work in the country’s development process.”

Another social media user Ma Chitra said Cambodian officials feel that they are too important to take criticism from the public and urged the government to reconsider the measure.

“Sending letters of complaint [about online criticism] is discriminatory and politically motivated,” he said.

Phay Siphan responded to criticism of his appeal to the two ministries by saying the government has no intention of targeting any specific group, and that the move was meant to protect the reputation and dignity of individuals who have been unfairly targeted on Facebook and other social media networks.

Draft law

The threat of legal action against users of social media comes amid broader concerns over the government’s drafting of a Law on Cybercrime and Telecommunication, which is believed to be nearing completion.

The law is expected to tighten internet censorship and further restrict free speech online in the Southeast Asian nation, according to international rights groups.

In October last year, a coalition of NGOs said in a statement that the proposed cybercrime law would prevent “ill-willed groups or individuals” from spreading false information and could criminalize individual input as well, while the telecommunications bill would make carriers responsible for censoring content.

“Freedom of expression is essential for democracy, but these telecom and cyber bills could be used to jail and bankrupt citizens whose comments on social media are critical of the government,” Consuelo Katrina A. Lopa, who represented coalition members Asia Democracy Network and South East Asian Community for Advocacy (Seaca), said at the time.

In December, U.S.-based Freedom House said in its 2014 Freedom on the Net report that draft provisions of Cambodia’s anti-cybercrime law penalized “poorly-defined” categories of online expression, adding that even without such a law, internet freedom had begun to erode in the country.

Blogs hosted overseas have been blocked for perceived anti-government content, Facebook users have been threatened with defamation charges for posts alleging corruption, and other cases of intimidation helped encourage self-censorship online in the past year, it said.

Reported by Um Rainsey for RFA’s Khmer Service. Translated by Sothearin Yeang. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.

http://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/threat-05262015133306.html

[chainarong]

I think when you are dealing with despots you can expect anything , one thing that is certain, Asians politicians do not take well to criticism either from outsiders or from their own people, good examples are from China and to a lesser degree Thailand's notorious article 44 , the grand part is History will tell us that these despots will end up out on their ear eventually and in some instances will be found just hanging around , in the mean time is the problem, everybody has to suffer because of their power hungry elitist attitude