Skip to content
tempatnakal.com

tempatnakal.com

An Exiled Politician Is Taking Facebook To Court Over Human Rights Abuses

Holly Clancy, February 8, 2018

Former Cambodia National Rescue Party president Sam Rainsy in 2015

Yoshikazu Tsuno / AFP / Getty Images

A team of lawyers filed a petition against Facebook on Thursday on behalf of a former Cambodian opposition leader in an attempt to prove that the country's prime minister is using the social media platform to commit human rights abuses.

Former opposition leader Sam Rainsy is being prosecuted for defamation in Cambodia for his claims that Prime Minister Hun Sen bought a significant portion of his Facebook followers. Facebook — which is so popular in Cambodia that it is practically synonymous with the internet — has come under fire in recent months for distorting democratic processes by hosting armies of state-sponsored trolls and amplifying propaganda from authoritarian governments. In Cambodia, it has given the government a streamlined process to report objectionable posts, officials have told BuzzFeed News.

Sam Rainsy's niece, Lorya Noseda, told BuzzFeed News that Facebook had rebuffed his team's repeated requests to discuss the allegations. That denial has prompted him to bring the social media giant to court in a bid to gain the evidence he needs to fight the charges against him. (Facebook contested Noseda's claim, saying it had offered a phone conversation, but Noseda said the company's staffers never followed through.)

“We are counting on Facebook to help shed light on the regime’s manipulation of technology. If Hun Sen has nothing to hide, he should support our investigation of his activities,” Sam Rainsy, who currently lives in exile in France to avoid imprisonment, said in a statement released through his lawyers.

Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen

Money Sharma / AFP / Getty Images

“Facebook was initially a force for good in Cambodia, helping its citizens to share information despite the government’s suppression of the independent media” Richard J Rogers of Global Diligence LLP, Sam Rainsy's lawyer, said in a statement. “The Petition raises fundamental questions about how Facebook should deal with human rights abusers who manipulate elections. We appreciate that Facebook faces many challenges and look forward to working with them constructively.”

Even without Facebook's data, Sam Rainsy has some evidence on his side. The analysis firm SocialBakers found in March 2016 that more than half of Hun Sen's likes on Facebook came from other countries, with large portions from India and the Philippines, countries with few Khmer-language speakers that are known for hosting so-called “click farms” where people can buy likes. Facebook says it does not condone accounts that buy likes and works to stop the practice in part by blocking the accounts.

Hun Sen's follower count is particularly significant because he's among the most engaged world leaders on Facebook despite the small size of his country, and Cambodian government officials frequently refer to the prime minister's success on the social network as a measure of his popularity and legitimacy in the country.

Hun Sen has cracked down on the independent press and civil society over the past few months, dissolving the opposition party that Sam Rainsy once led and jailing the party's leader, Kem Sokha. Rainsy said in January he was forming a new political movement.

LINK: This Country’s Democracy Has Fallen Apart — And It Played Out To Millions On Facebook

What's Hot

Post navigation

Previous post
Next post

Categories

Archives

Recent Posts

  • Top 10 Best Missing Radix Parameter Comparison

  • Top 10 Best Deepsea Fishing Reels Comparison

  • Top 10 Best Aluminum Alloy Fishing Reel Handle Replacement For Baitcasting Fishing Reel Gold Comparison

  • What Are Suit Pants?

  • Infant Shoes Size 3 Nike

  • Top 10 Best Typeerror: List Indices Must Be Integers Or Slices Comparison

  • Levis Jean Jackets Mens

  • Denim Jackets Trend Men’s

  • Top 10 Best Stren Crappie Mono Fishing Line Comparison

  • How Do You Measure for a Men’s Wearhouse Suit?

  • Why Gay Icon Ian McKellen Thinks It Was 'Distasteful' of Kevin Spacey to Live in the Closet

  • ‘Teen Mom OG’s Amber Portwood Accuses Matt Baier Of Domestic Abuse: ‘You Hit Me’

  • Top 10 Best Kitchen Trivet Definition Comparison

  • Bohemian Headboards

  • Newborn Child Cowboy Boots

  • Top 10 Best Pflueger President Spinning Fishing Reels By Pflueger Comparison

  • Top 10 Best Megatron Fishing Reel Comparison

  • Top 10 Best When to Wear a Sport Coat Comparison

  • Men Coat Sale

  • Top 10 Best Trivets Jobs Comparison

  • Top 10 Best Penn Saltwater Fishing Reels Comparison

  • Top 10 Best How To Connect A Microphone To A Stereo Comparison

  • Top 10 Best Trivets For Sale Comparison

  • Levis Sherpa Jacket Men

  • Amazon Men Coats

  • Baby Boots Pattern Free

  • Denim Jacket Men’s in Phoenix

  • 3 Attributes of Having a Vainness With Your Lit up Reflect

  • Top 10 Best What Is A Bamboo Trivet? Comparison

  • Top 10 Best Large Cast Iron Trivet Comparison

©2025 tempatnakal.com | WordPress Theme by SuperbThemes