Information and Broadcasting Director-General Phos Sovann addresses the media in Phnom Penh (Photo: www.phnompenhpost.com) Phnom Penh (VNA) – The CambodianGovernment began to take action on July 5 against “fake news” on websites andsocial media platforms deemed to be undermining national security.
Senior officials from the Ministry ofInterior (MoIt), the Ministry of Telecommunications (MoT), and the Ministry of Information(MoIf) on July 4 inked a joint directive to combat the spread of fake news onsocial media platforms.
Phos Sovann, Director-General of theGeneral Department of Information and Broadcasting at the Cambodian MoIf, saidthat the ministry has been preparing for a long time and has provided ampletime for relevant ministries to review cases.
He urged all websites to register withthe Ministry of Information and added that any website that failed to registeris subject to scrutiny.
As the country’s National Assemblyelection is due to take place on July 29, all media agencies are advised torespect the principles set by the National Election Committee.
In May, the first inter-ministerialdirective signed by Minister of Interior Sar Kheng revealed that the MoIt, theMoT, and the MoIf were aiming to control the flow of information in broadcasts,messages, audio clips, images, and videos on websites and social media.
The directive is intended to block anymedia that intends to provoke, create chaos, damage national defence andsecurity, incite discrimination, or affect national customs and culture.
The directive also ordered the threeministries to assign specialised staff to monitor, scrutinise, and observemedia.
However, a spokesperson for theTelecommunications Regulator of Cambodia said that the government could onlycontrol the flow of information on domain names that end with “kh” as it has nojurisdiction over websites that end in “coms” and “orgs”.
Director of the Broadcasting Departmentat the MoIf San Putheary said that a total of 216 websites have registered. Headded that anyone found guilty of sharing false information could face imprisonmentfor up to two years with fines up to 1,000 USD. -VNA
