Broad Scope Will Authorize Cross-Border Spying for Acts of Expression: Why You Should Oppose Draft UN Cybercrime Treaty

The draft UN Cybercrime Convention was supposed to help tackle serious online threats like ransomware attacks, which cost billions of dollars in damages every year.

But, after two and a half years of negotiations among UN Member States, the draft treaty’s broad rules for collecting evidence across borders may turn it into a tool for spying on people. In other words, an extensive surveillance pact.

It permits countries to collect evidence on individuals for actions classified as serious crimes—defined as offenses punishable by four years or more. This could include protected speech activities, like criticizing a government or posting a rainbow flag, if these actions are considered serious crimes under local laws.

Here’s an example illustrating why this is a problem:

If you’re an activist in Country A tweeting about human rights atrocities in Country B, and criticizing government officials or the king is considered a serious crime in both countries under vague cybercrime laws, the UN Cybercrime Treaty could allow Country A to spy on you for Country B. This means Country A could access your email or track your location without prior judicial authorization and keep this information secret, even when it no longer impacts the investigation.

Criticizing the government is a far cry from launching a phishing attack or causing a data breach. But since it involves using a computer and is a serious crime as defined by national law, it falls within the scope of the treaty’s cross-border spying powers, as currently written.

This isn’t hyperbole. In countries like Russia and China, serious “cybercrime” has become a catchall term for any activity the government disapproves of if it involves a computer. This broad and vague definition of serious crimes allows these governments to target political dissidents and suppress free speech under the guise of cybercrime enforcement.

Posting a rainbow flag on social media could be considered a serious cybercrime in countries outlawing LGBTQ+ rights. Journalists publishing articles based on leaked data about human rights atrocities and digital activists organizing protests through social media could be accused of committing cybercrimes under the draft convention.

The text’s broad scope could allow governments to misuse the convention’s cross border spying powers to gather “evidence” on political dissidents and suppress free speech and privacy under the pretext of enforcing cybercrime laws.

Canada said it best at a negotiating session earlier this year: “Criticizing a leader, innocently dancing on social media, being born a certain way, or simply saying a single word, all far exceed the definition of serious crime in some States. These acts will all come under the scope of this UN treaty in the current draft.”

The UN Cybercrime Treaty’s broad scope must be limited to core cybercrimes. Otherwise it risks authorizing cross-border spying and extensive surveillance, and enabling Russia, China, and other countries to collaborate in targeting and spying on activists, journalists, and marginalized communities for protected speech.

It is crucial to exclude such overreach from the scope of the treaty to genuinely protect human rights and ensure comprehensive mandatory safeguards to prevent abuse. Additionally, the definition of serious crimes must be revised to include those involving death, injury, or other grave harms to further limit the scope of the treaty.

For a more in-depth discussion about the flawed treaty, read here, here, and here.