Visitors stand in front and next to screens displaying the Meta logo during a launch event at the corporate offices of Meta in Berlin on June 6, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)

PHNOM PENH - Cambodia on Tuesday decided to ban all 22 members of the Oversight Board for Meta, the parent company of Facebook, from entering the Southeast Asian country, its foreign ministry said in a statement.

The ban took effect immediately and should any of them be found inside the country, they will be deported within 48 hours, the ministry said.

Hun Sen announced to quit Facebook and deleted his Facebook page, switching to using a Telegram channel and a TikTok account

The ministry said the recommendation of the Oversight Board for Meta to temporarily suspend the official Facebook page belonging to Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen is political in nature.

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"In the spirit of unwavering adherence to upholding the principle of sovereignty and to prevent the interference into the internal affairs of Cambodia, the royal government of Cambodia has decided to declare the following members of the Oversight Board to Meta Platforms Inc. as persona non grata," the ministry said in the statement.

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Last week, Hun Sen announced to quit Facebook and deleted his Facebook page, switching to using a Telegram channel and a TikTok account.

Last Friday he said that Cambodia decided to expel Facebook representatives from it. Hun Sen accused Facebook of bias and turning a blind eye to "insulting" remarks made by exiled political opponents against Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni, Hun Sen himself and his family members.