WASHINGTON—In advance of UN Member States meeting to review and sign the UN Convention Against Cybercrime later this month, Freedom House issued the following policy statement:
"Rather than strengthening protections against cybercrime, the UN Convention Against Cybercrime expands government authority in ways that threaten freedom of expression, privacy, and the safety of dissidents worldwide. Freedom House urges member states to refrain from signing the convention.
"By defining 'cybercrime' to include virtually any offense committed using information and communications technology, the convention invites abuse by authoritarian regimes and autocrats and establishes easier ways for governments to access personal data from foreign companies. Its provisions for extraterritorial data access could be weaponized to pursue exiled dissidents and surveil human right defenders with invasive technologies like commercial spyware. Far from protecting people online, the treaty risks turbocharging acts of transnational repression.
"In addition to not signing the treaty, Freedom House urges UN member states to further develop alternatives for legitimate cybercrime cooperation, in which operations are conducted in a transparent and proportional manner. We also urge members to refrain from responding to government data requests that could lead to human rights violations."
