Cambodian leader Hun Sen recently made the news when he promoted a new messaging app called CoolApp as an alternative to existing messaging platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram. The public endorsement has sparked criticism that the homegrown app would be a tool for the government to monitor and suppress political discussion in the country.
Hun Sen stated on Facebook that CoolApp would improve national security and make it “difficult for foreigners to interfere with our information.” He also pointed out that it is not uncommon for countries to have country-specific social media. For example, China has WeChat, and South Korea has KakaoTalk.
Cambodia has been struggling with an online scam epidemic run predominantly by Chinese gangs. Billions of dollars are at stake, with the issue also raising security concerns in other parts of the world.
CoolApp founder Lim Cheavutha claimed in an interview with CNN that the app does not track, collect, or store user data. Due to end-to-end encryption, only the two people communicating via the app can access the messages and calls. According to Cheavutha, the app has already seen 150,000 downloads and will eventually reach 500,000 or 1 million downloads. WhatsApp, owned by Meta and the most widely used messaging app in the world, currently has several million users in Cambodia.
Some view this launch of CoolApp as an attempt to restrict the citizens’ freedom and to increase surveillance. Under Hun Sen, Cambodia has experienced restrictions on internet freedom. Surveillance from the government has also increased, leading to more frequent arrests of people who criticize the government and the closing of independent media outlets. Opposition leaders especially condemn this app as an attempt to control public discourse.