"Fears Cambodia is rolling out China-style ‘Great Firewall’ to curb online freedom", 14 February 2022

A China-style internet gateway scheduled to be imposed in Cambodia … would grant the government far greater powers to conduct mass surveillance, censor and control the country’s internet, rights groups have warned…

Under the changes, all online traffic must pass through a National Internet Gateway (NIG), which the government says will protect national security, help with tax collection and preserve “social order, culture and national tradition”.

… Internet service providers were required to reroute their traffic through the gateway by this week.

… It has previously rejected comments by UN experts that the legislation is repressive, with the country’s Permanent Mission to the UN Offices in Geneva accusing the experts of making unfounded allegations and interfering in Cambodia’s domestic affairs.

… The authorities have also found other ways to suppress online information, including ordering internet service providers to block certain pages, such as news sites. According to civil society groups, internet service providers have also slowed down the speed of the internet to disrupt their activities, including livestreams, while activists and media have faced localised power cuts.

“It is therefore very likely that the NIG will become another instrument for the Royal Government of Cambodia to control and monitor the flow of information in Cambodia,” said Sopheap Chak, CCHR’s executive director.

The gateway, she added, facilitates mass surveillance, the interception and censorship of digital communications, and the collection of personal data…