UN to crack down on cybercrime, but privacy groups say human rights will be violated

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A global deal on the criminal use of computer technology is moving ahead despite concerns it will allow governments around the world to violate human rights by probing electronic communications and circumventing privacy safeguards.

Nearly 200 countries approved the UN Convention against Cybercrime on Thursday afternoon during a special committee meeting that concluded months of complex negotiations. The treaty — expected to be approved by the General Assembly within months — creates a framework for countries to work together against internet-related crimes, including the illegal access to and interception of computer information; electronic eavesdropping; and online child sexual abuse.

Like outer space and even parts of the deep sea, cyberspace is a relatively new area for regular human activity, and many governments and companies are scrambling to keep up.

The convention, expected at the General Assembly later this year, began several years ago with a Russian initiative, and critics said they could see those Russian origins in much of the treaty’s pro-repression language. Libertarians and business groups who objected to the treaty helped pack the conference hall where it was negotiated.

Many pointed to examples of potential downsides, such as the case against Rappler, an online Philippine news outlet that angered former President Rodrigo Duterte by reporting critically on his lethal crackdown on illegal drugs and alarming human rights record. Founded by fellow 2021 Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa, liberals said the site is the type that will be left vulnerable globally under the new treaty, but proponents, including the Biden administration, said the deal reflects the interests of the U.S. and its allies.

The Biden administration says this strikes a balance between privacy concerns and the need for every country to tackle criminal activity around the world.

“We view this convention as a means to expand global law enforcement cooperation,” a senior U.S. administration official familiar with the negotiating process told reporters Friday. The official said the U.N. negotiation process had enabled key improvements to the treaty.

“We tried to find and achieve a balance, and we felt we had achieved a balance between law enforcement and human rights authorities,” the official said.

Other participants in the negotiating process praised the deal’s adoption by consensus after more than five years of discussions marked by disagreements among countries over whether the treaty would be relatively liberal or include the tougher language that countries like Iran had requested. Business groups in particular called the agreement too vague and open to abuse.

Negotiations on the treaty involved representatives from nearly 200 countries, including Amazon, Microsoft, the International Chamber of Commerce, the American Council on International Affairs and other groups. They see the deal as a front for countries to interfere with private companies.

“The deal allows two countries to work together on any serious crime with a technology link,” said Nick Ashton-Hart, spokesman for the Cybersecurity Tech Accord, a group of 158 technology companies.

According to private companies, international civil rights organizations and electronic freedom advocates, the United Nations label attached to the treaty could provide a cover for repressive countries seeking to crack down on people who use the Internet in ways they do not like.

“I think it’s a blank check for abuse because it has a very broad scope for domestic and cross-border spying and surveillance and there’s a lack of robust checks and balances,” said Katitza Rodríguez, policy director for global privacy at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

The text of the 39-page UN convention begins with a portrait of a world where communications technology could increase the scale, speed and scope of “terrorism and transnational organized crime,” including trafficking in arms, weapons, people and illicit goods. It calls for “a global criminal justice policy aimed at protecting society from cybercrime.”

Among other things, it prohibits electronic eavesdropping or hacking without government permission. That language — “without right” — was one of several points that human rights activists tried to remove during negotiations, arguing that it gave governments too much power to determine which systems are closed.

Once the treaty is approved by the General Assembly, it will become law after 40 countries have ratified it.

According to Ashton-Hart, the end result will not lead to more online safety and will be used to justify repression.

“It will happen more often now because countries that want to do this can now point to a UN treaty to justify their cooperation in the repression,” he said.

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