Meta’s Oversight Board made a decision on Thursday to overturn Meta’s original decision to leave up a video posted by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Facebook, in which he threatened his political opponents with violence. Given the severity of the case, the board also called for the suspension of Hun Sen’s Facebook and Instagram accounts for six months.

The video first live streamed on January 9, 2023 and then automatically uploaded to Hun Sen’s official Facebook page. The 41-minute video features a speech from Hun Sen in Khmer—Cambodia’s official language—in which he responded to the allegations that the Cambodia People’s Party (CPP) manipulated the country’s elections in 2022. Hun Sen’s CPP currently holds all seats in the National Assembly of Cambodia, which formed in 2018. 

During his speech, Kun Sen threatened people who made the allegations, saying things such as “choose between the ‘legal system’ and ‘a bat,'” that he “[would] gather CPP people to protest and beat you up,” and that he would “send[] gangsters to [your] house.”

The video was then reported by three users five times to Meta for violating its Violence and Incitement Community Standard. The standard prohibits the posting of “threats that lead to serious injury” or “statements of intent to commit violence.” Meta’s initial review first marked the video as non-violating. However, the case then went to Meta’s policy and subject matter experts, who decided the video had violated the standard, but nevertheless applied a newsworthiness allowance. One of the people who reported the video then appealed to the Oversight Board. Meta itself also referred the case to the board.

Upon review, the board’s independent group of experts found that the video included statements of intent to commit violence in violation of Meta’s Community Standard. The board also found, “Meta was wrong to apply a newsworthiness allowance in this case, as the harm caused by allowing the content on the platform outweighs the post’s public interest value.” Furthermore, the board stated that allowing this kind of expression on Facebook would only enable such threats to spread more broadly.

As a result, the board urged Meta to suspend Hun Sen’s Facebook and Instagram accounts for six months, and to update its relevant policies and review systems accordingly. The board’s decision is binding, and as of the time of this report, both accounts appear to be suspended. 

On Thursday, Meta reposted the board’s decision on its website and said that they will “conduct a review of all the recommendations provided by the board…and respond to the board’s recommendation on suspending Prime Minister Hun Sen’s accounts as soon as we have undertaken that analysis.”

Hun Sen’s video fits within a larger crackdown on political opposition within Cambodia. Just this past week, the National Assembly voted to amend election law to impose criminal liability on citizens who disrupt the upcoming July election. Earlier in May, the National Election Committee also disqualified the country’s main liberal opposition party, known as the Candlelight Party, on procedural grounds.