Controversial Cyber Bill Leaked In Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA - APRIL 09: Ou Virak, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, a local Cambodian NGO, checks news related to the new draft Cybercrime Law on his laptop on April 9, 2014 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Leaked to the media for the first time on 9 April 2014, the draft of Cambodia's first-ever cybercrime law, in the pipelines since May 2012, is being criticised by international and local human rights organisations for severely restricting freedom of expression online. Article 28 in particular is being criticised for including vague provisions that could be used to silence Cambodian citizens, such as Article 28(3), which prohibits publications "deemed to generate insecurity, instability and political cohesiveness," and Article 28(4), which prohibits publications which "slanders or undermined the integrity of any governmental agencies." Both of these provisions carry with them sentences of 1 to 3 years in prison. Internet penetration has drastically increased in recent years and is increasingly serving as an outlet and as a source of information in a country where most media are controlled by the ruling party. Cambodia's government is already under criticism for recent crackdowns on protests and human rights activists, and is accused of frequently using provisions in the Criminal Code and other legislation to unjustly silence civil society and journalists. Human rights activists fear that this new law will exacerbate the situation and provide the government with additional tools to silence its critics online. (Photo by Omar Havana/Getty Images)