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  3. Proposed UN Cybercrime Treaty negotiations headed in troubling direction

Proposed UN Cybercrime Treaty negotiations headed in troubling direction

Escrito por Agencias Externas el 09/05/2023 a las 19:12:13
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Experts with Epicenter.works and four international allies will brief reporters on the grave threat to human rights posed by ongoing UN Cybercrime Treaty negotiations that could lead to broad surveillance powers, criminalizing online speech, and enabling hacking by police agencies. Participation is possible online and physically in Vienna (details below).


The one-hour briefing will be livestreamed from the fifth session of treaty negotiations in Vienna, where representatives from over 100 Member States will meet to revise the first draft of the instrument. The draft lacks strong commitments to human rights and detailed conditions and safeguards that are needed to protect the rights of people and organizations subject to cross-border cybercrime investigations.


Without that, the draft provides ample wiggle room for prosecutors to, for example, access personal data with no independent or judicial oversight, and use electronic surveillance to interfere with the right to privacy and free expression in ways not permitted by international human rights law.


The draft’s scope needs to be narrowed and include specific rights protections. As it stands, it creates over thirty new cybercrime offenses, including half a dozen that would make it a crime to send or post certain speech and content. This goes way beyond what States are obligated to prohibit under international treaties. Broadly-worded provisions set an extremely low bar, criminalizing any call for “illegal acts” motivated by “political” or “ideological” differences. This is not narrowly limited to calls for serious violence, and thus does not comply with international standards


Many States already fail to uphold rights to privacy and data protection, and use surveillance and cybercrime laws to target journalists, whistleblowers, and other individuals based on their political views. There is a genuine concern that, in an effort to persuade all States to sign the proposed UN cybercrime convention, poor human rights practices may be accommodated, leading to a race to the bottom in protecting the fundamental rights of people across the globe for years to come.


Speakers from EFF, Access Now, ARTICLE 19, Epicenter.works, and Global Partners Digital, all participants in the UN negotiations, will discuss the draft’s most alarming language, provide insight into the potential impact on users and tech companies, and update reporters on civil society’s calls for revisions and improvements to the text, which may be finalized in the next several months and taken up by the UN General Assembly early next year. The International Press Institute (IPI) is also inviting to the event.

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