PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — One of Cambodia’s leading opposition figures has asked a federal court in California to force Facebook to reveal details of its dealings with Hun Sen, the country’s authoritarian prime minister, arguing that he has used the platform to manipulate public opinion and strengthen his hold on power.

Lawyers for the opposition politician, Sam Rainsy, filed a petition on Thursday in the Northern District of California asking that Facebook be compelled to release records of advertising purchases by Mr. Hun Sen and his allies.

Mr. Sam Rainsy says Mr. Hun Sen has used Facebook to spread false news stories and death threats directed at political opponents. And he alleges that in addition to generating “likes” by paying for his pages to get targeted promotion, Mr. Hun Sen used so-called click farms to accumulate millions of counterfeit ones.

J. Noah Hagey, a partner in the San Francisco-based law firm BraunHagey & Borden, which is representing Mr. Sam Rainsy, called the legal action “an opportunity to bring unique transparency to some of the Hun regime’s most insidious methods for controlling and manipulating ordinary citizens.”