Online safety & content laws in Cambodia (2026)
Online safety rules in Cambodia: heavy restriction.
Cambodia operates a heavily state-restricted internet environment in which the government blocks independent media websites, prosecutes critics for social media posts under broadly worded laws, and is actively advancing a National Internet Gateway that would route all domestic and international traffic through a single government-controlled choke point. In April 2026 the National Assembly passed a first-ever anti-technology-fraud cybercrime law primarily targeting scam operations, while a broader draft cybercrime law whose vague speech provisions have drawn sharp criticism from rights groups remains pending. No comprehensive online safety framework analogous to the EU DSA or UK OSA exists.
Legal framework
Sub-Decree No. 23 on National Internet Gateway (2021); Law on Anti-Technology Fraud (April 2026); Ministry of Information (content blocking); Ministry of Post and Telecommunications (MPTC); draft Law on Cybercrime and draft Law on Cybersecurity (pending)
Key points: internet & online safety in Cambodia
National Internet Gateway
Sub-Decree No. 23 (16 February 2021) mandates that all Cambodian internet traffic pass through a single government-controlled gateway, enabling blanket censorship and surveillance; a May 2025 Ministry of Planning document names state telecom Telecom Cambodia and MPTC as responsible for infrastructure build-out starting 2026, though full implementation has been repeatedly delayed.
Anti-Technology Fraud Law (2026)
Passed unanimously by the National Assembly on 3 April 2026 and sent to the King for signature, this is Cambodia's first dedicated cybercrime statute; it targets pig-butchering scams, human trafficking for forced cyber-labour, and crypto money-laundering, with sentences of 15-30 years rising to life imprisonment where victims die.
Draft Cybercrime Law (pending)
A separate draft Law on Cybercrime criminalises online defamation, 'insulting or rude language', and sharing 'false information' harmful to public order or culture, and would authorise real-time interception of internet traffic; Access Now and civil-society groups warn its vague language falls far short of international human-rights standards and would arm authorities to prosecute dissidents and LGBTQ+ individuals.
Website blocking and media suppression
The Ministry of Information orders ISPs to block independent outlets; days before the 2023 general election several news sites were blocked, and in 2023 HRW documented systematic blocking of independent media. Opposition politician Mer Seng Hor was jailed for 2.5 years in 2024 for Facebook criticism; a woman abroad was sentenced in absentia to two years in 2025 for social-media posts critical of the government.
Child online protection
The Ministry of Post and Telecommunications, with UNICEF and the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children, published non-binding Child Online Protection Guidelines for the digital industry; no statutory age-verification or mandatory platform-safety duty for children is yet in force.
Platform liability and data protection
No general platform-liability or content-moderation law exists; a draft Personal Data Protection Law was under consultation as of mid-2025 but had not been enacted. Cambodia scored 21/100 ('Not Free') on Freedom House's Freedom on the Net 2025 assessment, reflecting the combination of surveillance infrastructure, speech prosecutions, and blocking orders.
Timeline of decisions
- DecisionSub-Decree Establishes National Committee for Coordinating Information and Public Opinion
A government sub-decree created a national body charged with monitoring online 'false information' and promoting Cambodia's 'positive image' and 'prestige.' Critics identified it as a formalised mechanism to suppress dissent and control public discourse under a disinformation mandate.
Freedom House
- EnforcementTelecommunications Regulator Orders Blocking of Independent Media Ahead of General Election
The Telecommunications Regulator of Cambodia directed ISPs to block the websites and social media accounts of Radio Free Asia, the Cambodia Daily, and the Kamnotra accountability database days before the July 23 general election, citing content deemed harmful to the government's reputation. The action drew condemnation from the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders.
Committee to Protect Journalists
- LawSub-Decree No. 23: National Internet Gateway Established
Prime Minister Hun Sen signed Sub-Decree No. 23 requiring all domestic and international internet traffic to pass through a government-controlled National Internet Gateway, with authority to block connections affecting 'national security, social order, dignity, culture, traditions, and customs' and mandatory retention of traffic data for one year. Implementation was delayed beyond the February 2022 deadline amid COVID-19 disruption and sustained international pressure, but the decree remained in force.
Open Development Cambodia
- GuidanceThird Draft Cybercrime Bill Circulated; Rights Groups Call for Withdrawal
A third iteration of Cambodia's long-stalled Cybercrime Bill was circulated, expanding surveillance powers and criminalising broad categories of online speech, including defamation, insults, and incitement, with vague definitions. Human Rights Watch and regional civil society called on the government to scrap the bill entirely, warning it would entrench authoritarian internet control.
Human Rights Watch
- LawInter-Ministerial Prakas on Website and Social Media Control
The Ministries of Post and Telecommunications and Information jointly issued a proclamation requiring all ISPs to install surveillance software to monitor internet content, granting authorities the power to block websites and social media accounts deemed illegal or harmful to society without judicial authorisation. This established Cambodia's first formal legal framework for online content censorship.
EngageMedia
- Law · officialLaw on Telecommunications Enacted
Cambodia adopted the Law on Telecommunications, formalising the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications' licensing authority over ISPs and digital infrastructure while permitting undeclared monitoring of private communications without judicial oversight or procedural safeguards. The law provided a broad statutory foundation for state surveillance of online activity.
Ministry of Post and Telecommunications (MPTC)
- LawPenal Code Enacted: Criminal Defamation and Incitement Articles Applied to Online Speech
Cambodia's 2009 Penal Code criminalised defamation (Article 305), public insult (Article 307), and incitement (Article 495) using vague definitions that authorities subsequently applied to social media posts, shares, and online commentary. These provisions became the primary legal tools for prosecuting internet users and journalists for the next decade and beyond.
LICADHO
Sources
- aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/3/cambodia-parliament-approves-law-to-combat-cybercrime-s
- usnews.com/news/world/articles/2026-04-03/cambodian-parliament-passes-landmark-c
- freedomhouse.org/country/cambodia/freedom-net/2025
- internetsociety.org/resources/internet-fragmentation/cambodias-national-internet-gateway/
- voanews.com/a/experts-fear-cambodian-cybercrime-law-could-aid-crackdown-/7561462.
- accessnow.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Legal-Analysis-Cambodia-Cybersecurity-Draf
- hrw.org/world-report/2026/country-chapters/cambodia
- business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/cambodia-civil-society-claim-that-draft-law-on-cybercr
- unicef.org/cambodia/press-releases/cambodia-launches-child-online-protection-gui
- dlapiperdataprotection.com/index.html?t=law&c=KH
- hrw.org/news/2023/08/02/cambodia-access-independent-media-blocked
Next for Cambodia: CybersecuritySectoral rules
Next topicOrientation, not legal advice: verify against the primary sources linked above. Last verified 24 May 2026. Methodology & how to cite · State of Technology Regulation 2026