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Expanding Freedom and Democracy
Freedom on the Net 2025

Cambodia

Partly Free
42
100
A Obstacles to Access 14 25
B Limits on Content 14 35
C Violations of User Rights 14 40
Last Year's Score & Status
43 100 Partly Free
Scores are based on a scale of 0 (least free) to 100 (most free). See the methodology and report acknowledgements.
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header1 Key Developments, June 1, 2024 – May 31, 2025

Internet freedom in Cambodia declined. Internet users, particularly members of the opposition, faced arrest and harassment for their online activity, perpetuating an environment that was characterized by fear and self-censorship.

  • The government developed plans to implement a 2021 subdecree on the establishment of a National Internet Gateway (NIG), designating the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications and state-owned Cambodia Telecom as the entities responsible for the work, according to May 2025 documents viewed by Nikkei Asia.1 The NIG would form a single, government-controlled conduit for all incoming and outgoing domestic and international web traffic, facilitating censorship and surveillance (A3, B3, C5, and C6).2
  • In July 2024, CamboJA News reported evidence that the military had conducted influence operations to shape online opinions, including a harassment campaign aimed at independent media outlets Voice of Democracy, Radio Free Asia, and Cambodia Daily (B5).3
  • The Ministry of Information promulgated the Charter of Professional Journalism in August 2024, establishing a broad definition of the field and high-level principles to govern journalistic conduct.4 More than three-quarters of the 100 Cambodian journalists surveyed by the Cambodian Center for Independent Media reported having concerns that the framework’s broad scope and vague language would be abused to carry out censorship (B6).5
  • Several people were sentenced to imprisonment for online expression of dissent, including Mer Seng Hor, a leader of the opposition Nation Power Party who was sentenced to two and a half years in prison in August 2024 for criticizing the government on Facebook.6 Cambodian officials also requested that Malaysian authorities arrest and deport Nuon Toeun, a woman residing in Malaysia who had criticized former Prime Minister Hun Sen and his son, current Prime Minister Hun Manet, on social media; Nuon Toeun was sentenced to two years in prison in April 2025 (C3).7
  • Environmental journalists and activists faced increasing pressure while investigating illegal logging operations. Online journalist Chhoeung Chheng was shot and killed in December 2024 while reporting on illegal logging in Siem Reap Province.8 Journalist Uk Mao was assaulted in March 2025 while reporting for a news website about a similar logging operation in Stung Treng Province, and he was then arrested in May on trumped-up charges after one of his attackers filed a complaint (C3 and C7).9

header2 Political Overview

Cambodia’s political system was dominated by the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) and its leader Hun Sen for more than three decades. In 2023, Hun Sen stepped down as prime minister and facilitated an undemocratic transfer of power to his son, Hun Manet, though Hun Sen effectively retains most political power in the country. While Cambodia held semicompetitive elections in the past, polls are now conducted in a severely repressive environment. The CPP-led government has maintained pressure on the opposition, independent media, and civil society through intimidation, politically motivated prosecutions, and violence.

This report has been abridged for Freedom on the Net 2025 due to ongoing budget constraints. Please consider making a donation to support future editions of this vital resource.

For additional background information, see last year’s full report. 

A Obstacles to Access

A1 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Do infrastructural limitations restrict access to the internet or the speed and quality of internet connections? 5.005 6.006

Score Change: The score improved from 4 to 5 because mobile connection speeds increased, according to some measurements.1

A2 1.00-3.00 pts0-3 pts
Is access to the internet prohibitively expensive or beyond the reach of certain segments of the population for geographical, social, or other reasons? 1.001 3.003
A3 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Does the government exercise technical or legal control over internet infrastructure for the purposes of restricting connectivity? 4.004 6.006
A4 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Are there legal, regulatory, or economic obstacles that restrict the diversity of service providers? 4.004 6.006
A5 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Do national regulatory bodies that oversee service providers and digital technology fail to operate in a free, fair, and independent manner? 0.000 4.004

B Limits on Content

B1 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Does the state block or filter, or compel service providers to block or filter, internet content, particularly material that is protected by international human rights standards? 3.003 6.006
B2 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Do state or nonstate actors employ legal, administrative, or other means to force publishers, content hosts, or digital platforms to delete content, particularly material that is protected by international human rights standards? 1.001 4.004
B3 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Do restrictions on the internet and digital content lack transparency, proportionality to the stated aims, or an independent appeals process? 1.001 4.004
B4 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Do online journalists, commentators, and ordinary users practice self-censorship? 1.001 4.004
B5 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Are online sources of information controlled or manipulated by the government or other powerful actors to advance a particular political interest? 1.001 4.004

Score Change: The score declined from 2 to 1 because the military reportedly conducted influence operations to shape online opinions.1

B6 1.00-3.00 pts0-3 pts
Are there economic or regulatory constraints that negatively affect users’ ability to publish content online? 2.002 3.003
B7 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Does the online information landscape lack diversity and reliability? 2.002 4.004
B8 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Do conditions impede users’ ability to mobilize, form communities, and campaign, particularly on political and social issues? 3.003 6.006

Score Change: The score declined from 4 to 3 because the environment for online organizing was increasingly constrained, particularly as activists faced arrests, threats, and violence in reprisal for their work.1

C Violations of User Rights

C1 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Do the constitution or other laws fail to protect rights such as freedom of expression, access to information, and press freedom, including on the internet, and are they enforced by a judiciary that lacks independence? 1.001 6.006
C2 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Are there laws that assign criminal penalties or civil liability for online activities, particularly those that are protected under international human rights standards? 1.001 4.004
C3 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Are individuals penalized for online activities, particularly those that are protected under international human rights standards? 2.002 6.006
C4 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Does the government place restrictions on anonymous communication or encryption? 3.003 4.004
C5 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Does state surveillance of internet activities infringe on users’ right to privacy? 2.002 6.006
C6 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Does monitoring and collection of user data by service providers and other technology companies infringe on users’ right to privacy? 1.001 6.006
C7 1.00-5.00 pts0-5 pts
Are individuals subject to extralegal intimidation or physical violence by state authorities or any other actor in relation to their online activities? 2.002 5.005
C8 1.00-3.00 pts0-3 pts
Are websites, governmental and private entities, service providers, or individual users subject to widespread hacking and other forms of cyberattack? 2.002 3.003

On Cambodia

See all data, scores & information on this country or territory.

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Country Facts

  • Population

    16,770,000

  • Global Freedom Score

    23 100 not free

  • Internet Freedom Score

    42 100 partly free

  • Freedom in the World Status

    Not Free

  • Networks Restricted

    No

  • Websites Blocked

    Yes

  • Pro-government Commentators

    Yes

  • Users Arrested

    Yes