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Explaining the UN cybercrime treaty, its potential benefits and risks, key issues in the negotiations, and likely paths forward.

What is the UN cybercrime treaty?

Since May 2021, UN member states have been negotiating an international treaty on countering cybercrime. If adopted by the UN General Assembly, it would be the first binding UN instrument on a cyber issue. The treaty could become an important global legal framework for international cooperation on preventing and investigating cybercrime, and prosecuting cybercriminals.

But without a clearly defined scope and sufficient safeguards, the treaty could endanger human rights – both online and offline – and repressive governments could abuse its provisions to criminalize online free speech. It could also threaten digital rights by legitimizing intrusive investigations and unhindered law enforcement access to personal information.

What is cybercrime?

There is no universally accepted definition of cybercrime. A common approach is to define it in two categories: cyber-dependent crimes and cyber-enabled crimes.

Cyber-dependent crimes are crimes that can only be committed by using Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). A notorious example is ransomware: hacking into an organization or individual’s device, encrypting data and demanding payment for decryption.

Without a clearly defined scope and sufficient safeguards, the treaty could endanger human rights – both online and offline – and repressive governments could abuse its provisions to criminalize online free speech.