Cambodia’s National Internet Gateway – a pretext for shrinking digital rights?

Freiheiten und Freiräume werden auch im digitalen Raum immer enger (Foto: Chris Yang auf Unsplash).

21.12.2021

The Sub-Decree on the Establishment of the National Internet Gateway has the potential to reshape the digital landscape in Cambodia. In an ever-dwindling digital civic space, the passage of the Sub-Decree could be described as an attempt by the Cambodian government to establish its control and dominance over the internet to curtail fundamental human rights.

In February 2021, the Cambodian government adopted the Sub-Decree on the Establishment of the National Internet Gateway (“NIG Sub-Decree”) in a process which lacked transparency and bypassed consultation with relevant stakeholders, namely civil society.

The NIG Sub-Decree has the potential to drastically reshape the digital landscape in Cambodia, rendering its current version as a free and open internet unrecognizable. A deeper dive into legislation in Cambodia reveals that the NIG Sub-Decree is merely a culmination of events that can only be described as an attempt by the Cambodian government to establish its control and dominance over the internet to curtail fundamental human rights.

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Sopheap Chak is the Executive Director of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR), a human rights organization working for the promotion and protection of political and civil rights in Cambodia.