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A police officer from the central contact point for cybercrime at the Lower Saxony State Office of Criminal Investigation stands at a trade fair in Hanover, Germany.
(Photo: Julian Stratenschulte/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Experts Warn Cybercrime Treaty Gives Governments New Powers to Crush Dissent
"States should not ratify this treaty," said Deborah Brown of Human Rights Watch.
Dec 30, 2024
A technology expert at Human Rights Watch on Monday urged countries not to ratify a first-of-its-kind cybercrime treaty that the United Nations General Assembly adopted without a vote last week, warning that the measure would give governments additional powers with which to crack down on journalists, whistleblowers, and peaceful protesters.
Deborah Brown, HRW's deputy director of technology, rights, and investigations, said that the Convention Against Cybercrime "extends far beyond addressing cybercrime—malicious attacks on computer networks, systems, and data."
"It obligates states to establish broad electronic surveillance powers to investigate and cooperate on a wide range of crimes, including those that don't involve information and communication systems. And it does so without adequate human rights safeguards," Brown warned, noting that "years of heated negotiations" produced a "deeply problematic outcome" backed by the United States and other major governments that had previously expressed opposition.
Brown explained that the newly adopted convention—which is set to take effect 90 days after 40 nations ratify it—"will obligate governments to collect electronic evidence and share it with foreign authorities for any 'serious crime,' defined as an offense punishable by at least four years of imprisonment under domestic law."
"Many governments treat activities protected by international human rights law as serious offenses, such as criticism of the government, peaceful protest, same-sex relationships, investigative journalism, and whistleblowing," Brown wrote. "Additionally, the convention could be misused to criminalize the conduct of children in certain consensual relationships as well as the ordinary activities of security researchers and journalists."
"The U.N. Cybercrime Convention is excessively broad and introduces significant legal uncertainty."
The U.N. General Assembly's adoption of the treaty last week brought to an end a five-year negotiation process during which civil society organizations voiced deep concerns about the emerging document.
In October, a coalition of groups including HRW, Amnesty International, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation urged the U.N. General Assembly to oppose the treaty, warning that its adoption and ratification would undermine "democracy, human rights, and the rule of law, endangering a wide range of communities and jeopardizing the safety and privacy of Internet users globally."
"The U.N. Cybercrime Convention is excessively broad and introduces significant legal uncertainty," the coalition said. "It provides for states to leverage highly intrusive domestic and cross-border surveillance powers for the purpose of a broadly defined list of criminal offenses which bear only a minimal nexus to information and communications technology systems and go far beyond the scope of core cyber-dependent crimes."
The groups pointed specifically to Article 23 of the convention, which they said mandates "the collection of e-evidence on a wide range of crimes, even those that don't involve information and communication systems." Such a requirement, the coalition warned, could easily be "misused by governments to stifle dissent."
Brown echoed that concern on Monday and argued that the human rights safeguards embedded in the treaty are limited and "many are optional."
"Others lack any means of enforcement, which provides no confidence that international human rights standards will prevail over abusive state practices," Brown added. "States should not ratify this treaty and those that do should take significant measures through domestic law and negotiations over the protocol to ensure it will be implemented in a way that respects human rights in practice, not just on paper."
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A technology expert at Human Rights Watch on Monday urged countries not to ratify a first-of-its-kind cybercrime treaty that the United Nations General Assembly adopted without a vote last week, warning that the measure would give governments additional powers with which to crack down on journalists, whistleblowers, and peaceful protesters.
Deborah Brown, HRW's deputy director of technology, rights, and investigations, said that the Convention Against Cybercrime "extends far beyond addressing cybercrime—malicious attacks on computer networks, systems, and data."
"It obligates states to establish broad electronic surveillance powers to investigate and cooperate on a wide range of crimes, including those that don't involve information and communication systems. And it does so without adequate human rights safeguards," Brown warned, noting that "years of heated negotiations" produced a "deeply problematic outcome" backed by the United States and other major governments that had previously expressed opposition.
Brown explained that the newly adopted convention—which is set to take effect 90 days after 40 nations ratify it—"will obligate governments to collect electronic evidence and share it with foreign authorities for any 'serious crime,' defined as an offense punishable by at least four years of imprisonment under domestic law."
"Many governments treat activities protected by international human rights law as serious offenses, such as criticism of the government, peaceful protest, same-sex relationships, investigative journalism, and whistleblowing," Brown wrote. "Additionally, the convention could be misused to criminalize the conduct of children in certain consensual relationships as well as the ordinary activities of security researchers and journalists."
"The U.N. Cybercrime Convention is excessively broad and introduces significant legal uncertainty."
The U.N. General Assembly's adoption of the treaty last week brought to an end a five-year negotiation process during which civil society organizations voiced deep concerns about the emerging document.
In October, a coalition of groups including HRW, Amnesty International, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation urged the U.N. General Assembly to oppose the treaty, warning that its adoption and ratification would undermine "democracy, human rights, and the rule of law, endangering a wide range of communities and jeopardizing the safety and privacy of Internet users globally."
"The U.N. Cybercrime Convention is excessively broad and introduces significant legal uncertainty," the coalition said. "It provides for states to leverage highly intrusive domestic and cross-border surveillance powers for the purpose of a broadly defined list of criminal offenses which bear only a minimal nexus to information and communications technology systems and go far beyond the scope of core cyber-dependent crimes."
The groups pointed specifically to Article 23 of the convention, which they said mandates "the collection of e-evidence on a wide range of crimes, even those that don't involve information and communication systems." Such a requirement, the coalition warned, could easily be "misused by governments to stifle dissent."
Brown echoed that concern on Monday and argued that the human rights safeguards embedded in the treaty are limited and "many are optional."
"Others lack any means of enforcement, which provides no confidence that international human rights standards will prevail over abusive state practices," Brown added. "States should not ratify this treaty and those that do should take significant measures through domestic law and negotiations over the protocol to ensure it will be implemented in a way that respects human rights in practice, not just on paper."
A technology expert at Human Rights Watch on Monday urged countries not to ratify a first-of-its-kind cybercrime treaty that the United Nations General Assembly adopted without a vote last week, warning that the measure would give governments additional powers with which to crack down on journalists, whistleblowers, and peaceful protesters.
Deborah Brown, HRW's deputy director of technology, rights, and investigations, said that the Convention Against Cybercrime "extends far beyond addressing cybercrime—malicious attacks on computer networks, systems, and data."
"It obligates states to establish broad electronic surveillance powers to investigate and cooperate on a wide range of crimes, including those that don't involve information and communication systems. And it does so without adequate human rights safeguards," Brown warned, noting that "years of heated negotiations" produced a "deeply problematic outcome" backed by the United States and other major governments that had previously expressed opposition.
Brown explained that the newly adopted convention—which is set to take effect 90 days after 40 nations ratify it—"will obligate governments to collect electronic evidence and share it with foreign authorities for any 'serious crime,' defined as an offense punishable by at least four years of imprisonment under domestic law."
"Many governments treat activities protected by international human rights law as serious offenses, such as criticism of the government, peaceful protest, same-sex relationships, investigative journalism, and whistleblowing," Brown wrote. "Additionally, the convention could be misused to criminalize the conduct of children in certain consensual relationships as well as the ordinary activities of security researchers and journalists."
"The U.N. Cybercrime Convention is excessively broad and introduces significant legal uncertainty."
The U.N. General Assembly's adoption of the treaty last week brought to an end a five-year negotiation process during which civil society organizations voiced deep concerns about the emerging document.
In October, a coalition of groups including HRW, Amnesty International, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation urged the U.N. General Assembly to oppose the treaty, warning that its adoption and ratification would undermine "democracy, human rights, and the rule of law, endangering a wide range of communities and jeopardizing the safety and privacy of Internet users globally."
"The U.N. Cybercrime Convention is excessively broad and introduces significant legal uncertainty," the coalition said. "It provides for states to leverage highly intrusive domestic and cross-border surveillance powers for the purpose of a broadly defined list of criminal offenses which bear only a minimal nexus to information and communications technology systems and go far beyond the scope of core cyber-dependent crimes."
The groups pointed specifically to Article 23 of the convention, which they said mandates "the collection of e-evidence on a wide range of crimes, even those that don't involve information and communication systems." Such a requirement, the coalition warned, could easily be "misused by governments to stifle dissent."
Brown echoed that concern on Monday and argued that the human rights safeguards embedded in the treaty are limited and "many are optional."
"Others lack any means of enforcement, which provides no confidence that international human rights standards will prevail over abusive state practices," Brown added. "States should not ratify this treaty and those that do should take significant measures through domestic law and negotiations over the protocol to ensure it will be implemented in a way that respects human rights in practice, not just on paper."
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