Cambodia cans critics of its snoopy Internet Gateway, says every nation has one

Cambodia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has issued a clarification about the role of the "National Internet Gateway" that will commence operations tomorrow, stating that descriptions of it as an instrument of pervasive surveillance are "unfounded."

As reported yesterday in The Register, human rights organisations, big tech, and academics believe the Gateway is all about surveillance, in the service of suppressing political opposition, and perhaps with some crony capitalism thrown in for good measure.

However, a Ministry spokesperson insists the Gateway is actually an instrument to "strengthen national security and tax collection as well as to maintain social order and protect national culture." The clarification adds that Cambodia's government conducted "an extensive study on infrastructure models from different countries around the world and found that most countries have internet gateways and respective regulatio