Meta oversight board calls for suspension of Cambodia leader
Meta to remove video posted on Hun Sen's page threatening rivals, but wants a review before suspending him
29 June 2023 - 16:43
byKatie Paul
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Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. Picture: REUTERS/SAMRANG PRING
New York — Meta Platforms’ content moderation board on Thursday called for the suspension of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen for six months, saying a video posted on his Facebook page had violated Meta’s rules against violent threats.
The oversight board, which is funded by Meta but operates independently, said the company erred in leaving up the video and ordered its removal from Facebook.
Meta, in a written statement, agreed to take down the video, but said it would respond to the recommendation to suspend Hun Sen after a review.
A suspension would silence the prime minister’s Facebook page less than a month before an election in Cambodia, though critics say the poll will be a sham due to Hun Sen’s autocratic rule.
The decision is the latest in a series of rebukes by the board over how the world’s biggest social media company handles rule-breaking political leaders and incitement to violence around elections.
The company’s election integrity efforts are in focus as the US prepares for presidential elections next year.
The board endorsed Meta’s 2021 banishment of former US president Donald Trump — the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination — after the deadly January 6 Capitol Hill riot, but criticised the indefinite nature of his suspension and urged more careful preparation for volatile political situations overall.
Meta reinstated Trump earlier this year.
Last week, the board said Meta’s handling of calls for violence after the 2022 Brazilian election continued to raise concerns about the effectiveness of its election efforts.
Hun Sen’s video, broadcast on his official Facebook page in January, showed the prime minister threatening to beat up political rivals and send “gangsters” to their homes, according to the board’s ruling.
Meta determined at the time that the video fell afoul of its rules, but opted to leave it up under a “newsworthiness” exemption, reasoning that the public had an interest in hearing warnings of violence by their government, the ruling said.
The board held that the video’s harms outweighed its news value.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Meta oversight board calls for suspension of Cambodia leader
Meta to remove video posted on Hun Sen's page threatening rivals, but wants a review before suspending him
New York — Meta Platforms’ content moderation board on Thursday called for the suspension of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen for six months, saying a video posted on his Facebook page had violated Meta’s rules against violent threats.
The oversight board, which is funded by Meta but operates independently, said the company erred in leaving up the video and ordered its removal from Facebook.
Meta, in a written statement, agreed to take down the video, but said it would respond to the recommendation to suspend Hun Sen after a review.
A suspension would silence the prime minister’s Facebook page less than a month before an election in Cambodia, though critics say the poll will be a sham due to Hun Sen’s autocratic rule.
The decision is the latest in a series of rebukes by the board over how the world’s biggest social media company handles rule-breaking political leaders and incitement to violence around elections.
The company’s election integrity efforts are in focus as the US prepares for presidential elections next year.
The board endorsed Meta’s 2021 banishment of former US president Donald Trump — the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination — after the deadly January 6 Capitol Hill riot, but criticised the indefinite nature of his suspension and urged more careful preparation for volatile political situations overall.
Meta reinstated Trump earlier this year.
Last week, the board said Meta’s handling of calls for violence after the 2022 Brazilian election continued to raise concerns about the effectiveness of its election efforts.
Hun Sen’s video, broadcast on his official Facebook page in January, showed the prime minister threatening to beat up political rivals and send “gangsters” to their homes, according to the board’s ruling.
Meta determined at the time that the video fell afoul of its rules, but opted to leave it up under a “newsworthiness” exemption, reasoning that the public had an interest in hearing warnings of violence by their government, the ruling said.
The board held that the video’s harms outweighed its news value.
Reuters
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