Historically, Cambodia has been fairly lax in enacting legislation that stifles freedom of expression online — unlike its neighbors of Vietnam and Thailand — but with more Cambodian citizens gaining access to the Internet, the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) has attempted to control dissenting views and “immoral actions” online through the drafting of a cybercrime law. A leaked copy of the legislation, which was initially drafted in 2012, revealed some serious threats to fundamental freedoms by making certain speech and other actions online punishable by fine and prison time.One of the main issues with this cybercrime draft law is the fact that it was drafted behind closed doors, without the input of civil society. This lack of transparency and secrecy leads to the government having free reign to stifle speech online and lock down any political dissenters. Furthermore, Article 28 of the draft outlines the online actions that are deemed punishable by law, including engaging in activities set forth in “publications that [are] deemed damaging to the moral and cultural values of the society,” and “publications or continuation of publication that [are] deemed to be non-factual which slanders or undermined the integrity of any governmental agencies, ministries, not limited to departments, federal or local levels.” Penalties for these actions are also outlined in the draft — revealing that speech violations that occur online would incur a more severe punishment than ones carried out offline.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/05/cambodian-cybercrime-draft-law-threatens-freedom-expression-online