Hun Sen’s FB account at centre of US legal case

SAN FRANCISCO: A former Cambodian opposition leader took legal action against Facebook on Thursday to show that the country’s long-time ruler had used his account to further a political crackdown.

The motion, filed in the United States district court here, seeks to compel Facebook to produce information about Prime Minister Hun Sen’s account as well as whether he had purchased millions of “likes” through socalled click farms and made death threats, among other violations of Facebook policies.

Hun Sen has ruled Cambodia for 33 years and faces no meaningful opposition in this year’s elections after the dissolution of the country’s largest opposition party, the Cambodia National Rescue Party, in November.

However, he has made Facebook a key tool in public outreach efforts.

A spokesman for Facebook declined to comment on Thursday on the new legal action, but said the company took fake accounts and inauthentic activity on the social network seriously.

Exiled former opposition leader Sam Rainsy faces criminal proceedings in Cambodia, including a conviction for defamation for casting doubt on the legitimacy of the “likes” on Hun Sen’s Facebook page.

An analysis from the social media firm Socialbakers in 2016 determined that most of Hun Sen’s likes came from India and the Philippines, which officials have denied.

“In the last few years, the Facebook platform has been misused and manipulated by Cambodia’s autocratic dictator, intent on maintaining power at all costs,” Richard Rogers, an attorney for Sam Rainsy, said.

“The petition raises fundamental questions about how Facebook should deal with human rights abusers who manipulate elections.”

In the last few years, the Facebook platform has been misused and manipulated by Cambodia’s autocratic dictator.

RICHARD ROGERS Sam Rainsy’s attorney