Since the Royal Government of Cambodia ignited a crackdown on independent media in 2017, the press freedom landscape has become more precarious. Many journalists and media outlets have borne the brunt of repressive tactics employed by the RGC to stifle freedom of expression, including online. The RGC has also been empowered to target investigative journalists and critical media outlets through the passage of laws that have consolidated its power over the telecommunications sector as well as policies that have negatively impacted journalists’ rights. Many of these laws have given the RGC sweeping discretionary powers to target and silence online content that they arbitrarily deem unfit for public consumption, posing a significant threat to freedom of expression online, particularly press freedom. It is, therefore, paramount that the RGC urgently redresses the declining situation of freedom of expression online in Cambodia and increases efforts to protect, respect, and fulfill this fundamental freedom in compliance with Cambodian and international law. – Sopheap Chak, Executive Director of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) 54 Dawn of Digital Dictatorship: Weaponizing the Law Against Online Speech in Southeast Asia