DW Weekly #173 – 16 August 2024
Welcome to another issue of the Digital Watch weekly!
After three years of negotiations, the UN member states at the Ad Hoc Committee (AHC) adopted the draft of the first globally binding legal instrument on cybercrime. The embattled process went through ten rounds of negotiations, complete with a reconvened concluding session, as the states just could not come to an agreement at the original concluding session.
The adoption of the Convention. Image credit: Council of Europe.
The convention was adopted despite multiple obstacles.
There was significant opposition from human rights groups, civil society, and technology companies, who have raised concerns about the potential risks of increased surveillance. In July, Diplo hosted experts from various stakeholder groups to discuss their expectations before the final round of UN negotiations and to review the draft treaty. Experts noted an unprecedented alignment between industry and civil society on concerns about the draft, emphasising the urgent need for a treaty focused on core cybercrime offences and strengthened by robust safeguards and clear intent requirements.
Human rights protections and safeguards were among the most contested areas in the draft treaty throughout the negotiation process. We provided a detailed analysis of these disagreements earlier. During the final session, some states advocated for the inclusion of specific human rights in the treaty, while others preferred a more general reference without an exhaustive listing. Overall, states were divided: One group repeatedly emphasised that this was not a human rights treaty and argued that human rights should not become an obstacle to effective cross-border cooperation in combating cybercrime, while others reiterated that the lack of explicit references to human rights is itself a barrier to such cooperation.
The debates surrounding the very title of the convention highlighted ongoing challenges among states in agreeing on the scope and terminology for this legal instrument. During the final session, the majority of delegations advocated for a succinct title, suggesting ‘United Nations Convention Against Cybercrime’ for clarity. However, the use of the term cybercrime has not been agreed upon by all states. Russia, in particular, criticised the use of cyber terminology, arguing that it does not align with the mandate. Instead, it supported the use of ICTs, which had been agreed upon by states and included in the use of terms (Article 2). In the end, both terms were used: The convention was named ‘United Nations Convention against Cybercrime (Crimes Committed through the Use of an Information and Communications Technology System)’.
These are not the only areas of disagreement. We will provide a more detailed analysis from the final session on dig.watch come Monday (19 August).
The convention establishes ‘a global criminal justice policy’ to protect society against cybercrime by ‘fostering international cooperation’ and will now be presented to the UN General Assembly for formal adoption later this year. It will take effect once ratified by at least 40 member countries.
You can read the full text of the convention or explore the convention with Diplo’s AI assistant on our dedicated AHC page.
And if you’re curious about how this convention compares to the Budapest Convention, there’s a comparative analysis in the pipeline.
Andrijana, Anastasiya, and the Digital Watch team
Highlights from the week of 9-16 August 2024
Baidu tops AI patent applications, showcasing China’s growing strength in the field.
AI systems become more controllable, easing fears about their potential risks, says Kwon.
Australian government aims to boost public trust in technology adoption.
These cases underscore increasing legal and regulatory pressure on Google’s business model and practices, with potential broad repercussions for the tech industry.
The UK and France will begin a consultation as part of the Pall Mall Process to address the misuse of commercial cyber intrusion tools, involving input from states, industry, and civil society experts.
The White House and DHS have launched an $11 million initiative to enhance the security of open-source software in critical infrastructure, emphasizing collaboration between the government, private sector, and cybersecurity community.
Authorities have dismantled the servers and domains in Germany, the US, and Britain.
July’s massive tech outage caused significant disruptions and $15 billion in damages, but the majority of these costs were uninsured, leaving cyber insurers largely unaffected.
The social media platform was initially blocked on 2 August for failing to adhere to Turkish regulations and public sensitivities, including accusations of blocking condolence posts for Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
Republican Party candidate and former US President Donald J Trump is the first high-visibility political figure in the USA who has agreed to address the bitcoin crowd. What did he promise to the crowd in Nashville?
