7 - Cambodia: From Democratization of Information to Disinformation

Summary

This chapter chronicles the evolution of social media in Cambodia from its inception as a relatively unfettered platform for social interaction, to becoming an emergent venue for political participation, and finally to its role in the suppression of political opposition. In so doing, it is argued that social media enables simultaneously bottom-up, expressive civic activism and top-down, proactive exercise of political domination by the ruling party, the Cambodian People's Party (CPP).

Cambodians had reasons to be optimistic when the internet and social media arrived in the late 2000s. Despite a long history of restrictions on traditional media, there was no indication early on that the Cambodian government would seek to curtail freedom in cyberspace. Indeed, up until 2014, internet censorship did not go beyond restricting sexually explicit materials online and blocking of only a few anti-government websites (Freedom House 2009). Entrepreneurs, activists and journalists alike were excited by the economic, social and political transformations these information and communication technologies (ICT) could bring. Social media and the internet were seen to have provided a relatively free space for ordinary Cambodians to exchange information, interact and share viewpoints—all of which could strengthen social capital and increase political efficacy. The level of freedom found online was so unprecedented in comparison to other media outlets that some activists placed high hopes it could usher in the era of “digital democracy” in Cambodia (Chak 2009). The early optimism of the democratizing power of the internet lived on for several years, thanks to a slow expansion of internet connectivity and a low ICT adoption rate, which had kept the cyberspace relatively free of government interventions. Internet enthusiasts were so optimistic about the digital future that the first “internet party”—the Chatter Party—was founded as early as in 2006 through networks of bloggers and web service provider associations (Bun 2006). A small Cambodian blogosphere was emerging with some bloggers even sharing critical views of the government freely online. With half of its population under the age of twenty-five and a high rate of mobile subscriptions, Cambodia was poised for the digital disruptions that could spawn social and political change.

Yet Cambodia's cyberspace today quickly became more repressive (Freedom House 2019). The consecutive decline in internet freedom is a recent development, but one that is in line with existing patterns of traditional media controls.