The U.N. General Assembly adopted a new legally binding global treaty on cybercrime and digital threats, pushing aside warnings from large technology companies that governments could use it to repress citizens.
The new U.N. Convention against Cybercrime reflects the collective will of the U.N.'s 193 member nations to promote international cooperation that prevents and combats cybercrime, according to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres.
The agreement also is intended to provide technical assistance and capacity building support mainly for developing countries.
"The convention creates an unprecedented platform for collaboration in the exchange of electronic evidence, protection for victims, and prevention, while ensuring human rights are protected online," said Stéphanie Tremblay, an associate spokesperson for Guterres.
The General Assembly's president, Cameroonian politician Philémon Yang, said the new treaty provides new tools to protect people and their rights online.
"We live in a digital world, one where information and communications technologies, have enormous potential for the development of societies, but also increases the potential threat of cybercrime," he said.
Ghada Waly, executive director of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, also called it a big win for international cooperation against cybercrime that is becoming more pervasive and destructive, exploiting the vulnerable and draining trillions from economies every year. Her office served as secretariat for the five-year negotiating process that led to the treaty.
“The adoption of this landmark convention is a major victory for multilateralism, marking the first international anti-crime treaty in 20 years," she said. "It is a crucial step forward in our efforts to address crimes like online child sexual abuse, sophisticated online scams and money laundering."
'Grave risks to human rights and legitimate commerce'
The treaty will open for signature at a formal ceremony hosted by Vietnam next year, and will enter into force 90 days after 40 nations ratify it. Its journey toward adoption began with a General Assembly vote in Dec. 2019 to begin negotiations. Russia had raised objections to the Budapest Convention and called for a new approach to fighting cybercrime.
Last year, however, technology companies warned that the text could be used as a tool for government repression. The Cybersecurity Tech Accord, which includes more than 160 global technology companies, said in July the treaty posed many problems for industry and citizens alike.
“As presently drafted, the convention presents grave risks to human rights and legitimate commerce. It risks undermining global cybersecurity, making it easier, not harder, for criminals to engage in cybercrime,” said Nick Ashton-Hart, head of the group's delegation to the negotiations.
“It will facilitate governments around the world sharing data of individual citizens in perpetual secrecy, which we think is simply inappropriate in a U.N. treaty," he said. "The latest draft ignores concerns expressed consistently throughout the negotiations by the Cybersecurity Tech Accord, civil society and the private sector. It also includes measures that could have huge negative impacts on national security, industry and internationally-recognized human rights."
The treaty was based on a text introduced by Russia that finally won support from the United States and the United Kingdom in November. Jonathan Shrier, an American diplomat to the U.N. Economic and Social Council, said the U.S. acknowledges industry concerns on issues such as potential human rights abuses, targeted harassment of tech company employees and the undermining of systems that protect the privacy and security of users around the world.
"The United States recognizes those concerns and remains committed to combatting the persistent human rights abuses we see around the globe by governments that misuse and abuse national cybercrime, data access, and other cyber-related domestic statutes and tools to target human rights defenders, journalists, dissidents, and others," he said. "This is why we believe that implementation of convention provisions, including those on procedural measures, must be paired with robust domestic safeguards, oversight, investments in capacity-building, and strong rule-of-law institutions."
