Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen has been accused of inciting violence against his political opponents on Facebook, prompting an oversight board for the social media platform to recommended that his Facebook and Instagram accounts be immediately suspended for six months.
RELATED
- Meta oversight board urges Cambodia prime minister’s suspension from Facebook
- Meta Oversight Board calls for Cambodian leader’s accounts to be suspended
- Oversight board recommends Facebook suspend Cambodian premier’s account for violent language
A board of experts for Meta Platforms Inc, which issues binding content moderation decisions for the company’s Facebook and Instagram platforms, announced on Thursday that Facebook content moderators had erred by allowing a livestreamed speech by Hun Sen, in which he threatened political opponents, to remain on his Facebook page.
The “newsworthiness” of Hun Sen’s threatening comments was not a valid reason to allow his speech to remain on Facebook, the board said, adding that the platform had amplified Hun Sen’s incitement to violence ahead of the country’s July 23 national election by allowing the speech to remain online.
