As the date for finalizing the UN Cybercrime Convention approaches, human rights organizations are warning that it threatens freedom of expression and normalizes domestic surveillance.
"The latest draft of the convention—originally spearheaded by Russia but since then the subject of two and a half years of negotiations—still authorizes broad surveillance powers without robust safeguards and fails to spell out data protection principles essential to prevent government abuse of power," said Katitza Rodriguez, policy director for global privacy for the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
There are inadequate safeguards, it says, such as the lack of judicial or independent review, with surveillance actions reviewed or authorized by a judge or an independent regulator. "This draft in its current form is an egregious betrayal of human rights and an open door to unchecked surveillance and systemic abuses," said Rodriguez.Connor McGregor s Return Fight Canceled Over Injury Meaning Pereira Vs Prochazka Will Headline UFC 303
And while certain changes have been made during the process, there's still no explicit exemption for security researchers or investigative journalists who act in good faith.