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A hot potato: A controversial proposal to strengthen international cooperation against cybercrime has gained US support. The Biden Administration is interested in signing the treaty, while politicians are still warning about its potential for misuse and human rights abuse.
Senior US government officials have confirmed that the Biden Administration is ready to support a United Nations treaty on cybercrime. The legally binding agreement would be a first and could help shape the UN’s future legal initiatives and cooperation in fighting and investigating cyber threats.
The treaty pushes for a global criminalization of child sexual abuse material and non-consensual online sharing of intimate imagery. Officials said that the treaty could also help the United States gain more comprehensive access to cybercrime-related digital evidence, while novel extradition rules would help with arrests and investigations.
The US, Europe, and other nations initially opposed the treaty. According to an Electronic Frontier Foundation timeline, the Russian Federation presented a letter with the original draft in 2017. The resolution asking for a new international treaty against cybercrime was also sponsored by Belarus, Cambodia, China, Iran, Syria, and other “rogue nations” with no particular interest in defending people’s rights to fair and impartial trials.
Human rights organizations opposed the draft, urging the UN General Assembly to vote against the resolution. Yet, the ruling body created an Ad Hoc Committee (AHC) to draft a new convention to fight the use of communication technologies for criminal purposes, which seemed more palatable.
Earlier this year, the AHC reached an agreement on the new draft, which is now awaiting formal adoption. The treaty will likely pass a General Assembly vote. However, human rights advocates and NGOs still describe the convention as a severe threat to privacy, security, freedom of expression, and AI safety.
A recent letter by six US Democratic senators said that Russia, China, and other authoritarian regimes could exploit the treaty to increase their censorship efforts, infringe online privacy, and abuse human rights. Washington said that it would enforce safeguards against human rights abuses, with the Department of Justice refusing cooperation in blatantly abuse attempts.
“While the executive branch’s efforts to steer this treaty in a less-harmful direction are commendable, more must be done to keep the convention from being used to justify such actions,” the Democrats’ letter said.
Unnamed officials told Bloomberg that the Biden Administration would not support any UN resolution if it did not implement proper safeguards in the new treaty.
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