AKP Phnom Penh, February 19, 2021 --

The Ministry of Post and Telecommunications (MPTC) has rejected allegations with regard to the establishment of National Internet Gateway (NIG), stressing that they are unfounded, politically motivated, untrue, and contradictory to objectives stated in the Sub-Decree No. 23 ANK/BK dated Feb. 16, 2021 on the Establishment of NIG.

The rejection was made in a press release made public this morning, after there have been reactions from a number of news outlets and non-governmental organisations who suggest that the Royal Government intends to collect data, wiretap consumers' conversations, restrict freedom of expression, and pursue the Chinese model.  

“National Internet Gateways have been established in almost all countries and Cambodia is no exception,” said MPTC. “The Sub-Decree on the National Internet Gateway has been prepared in a transparent manner, and consultations have been held with experts in the telecommunication sector, private operators, and relevant institutions on numerous occasions.”

The purpose of NIG is to increase the effectiveness of national revenue collection on the basis of fair and honest competition, and transparency between the state and operators, as well as to prevent illegal cross-border network connections, illegal online gambling, cyberthreats, pornography, online frauds, etc., MPTC underlined.  

“MPTC would like to reiterate that no provision in the Sub-Decree authorises the collection of consumers' data and restriction on freedom of expression. Moreover, MPTC intends to draft the Personal Data Protection Law following the Cybersecurity Law which shall be adopted imminently,” it concluded.

By C. Nika