UN cybercrime treaty enables authoritarian regimes, top think tank argues

"The Foundation for Defense of Democracies said Thursday that the U.S. government should oppose a United Nations cybercrime treaty set for approval in Hanoi next week, on grounds that it will enable authoritarian governments to suppress dissent and target opposition voices. The pact has been in the works for years and has the potential to rethink how countries prosecute cybercriminals."

"At the heart of the pact is a commitment to cross-border data sharing to help prosecute cybercriminals, but that could incidentally force the U.S. and allies to track people deemed dangerous to foreign adversaries, including those deemed criminal for just criticizing their governments. "The treaty's overly broad yet still vague definition of cybercrime and its emphasis on mutual assistance mean Russia could potentially use its terms to force Washington to acquiesce to or even assist Moscow's own trumped-up criminal prosecutions," an FDD blog released Thursday argues."

A United Nations cybercrime treaty scheduled for approval in Hanoi would create cross-border data-sharing obligations intended to help prosecute cybercriminals. Broad and vague definitions of cybercrime and surveillance could allow authoritarian regimes to misuse mutual-assistance provisions to target dissidents and political opponents. U.S. national security officials have debated whether to approve the convention because of weak protections for individual users in their home nations. Cross-border assistance requirements risk compelling the U.S. and allies to provide information that adversarial governments could use for domestic repression. Recent arrests in Vietnam for criticizing the government illustrate the potential for abuse.

Read at Nextgov.com