Proposed Cybercrime Treaty still draws objections - News - Security

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This story was printed from ZDNet Australia.
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Proposed Cybercrime Treaty still draws objections

By Juliana Gruenwald, Inter@ctive Week
December 12, 2000
URL: http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/security/soa/Proposed-Cybercrime-Treaty-still-draws-objections/0,130061744,120107546,00.htm

With a December deadline looming, a European organisation drafting a proposed cybercrime treaty is under increased pressure from U.S. industry representatives to slow the process.

A Council of Europe committee is expected to meet this week and may finish drafting the treaty, which is aimed at harmonising cybercrime laws and promoting greater cooperation among law enforcement authorities in investigating cybercrimes.

While final approval from the Council of Europe, a 41-member group created to seek cooperation across Europe on social and legal issues, is not expected until mid-2001, U.S. industry groups want more time to recommend changes to the document's text. While pointing to some improvements in the latest public draft, released last month, business representatives and privacy advocates still say it is too broad and burdensome for industry. For example, some have concerns about the draft convention's data preservation requirements, while content creators want stronger protections for intellectual property.

The draft has "gotten better and industry wants to do the right thing," said Lisa Norton, a lawyer who represents Internet Security Systems.

The U.S., which is not a council member but is helping to draft the convention, asked the council in November for more time to make changes to the text, according to Betty Shave, who is leading negotiations for the Justice Department's computer crimes unit. She said it's unclear whether council officials will allow any substantive changes to be made to the text next year as the convention winds its way through the approval process.

The U.S. has not decided whether it will sign the convention. But the Department of Justice said in a Dec. 1 fact sheet that the country "would directly benefit by having better methods of obtaining international assistance from other parties in computer-related crime cases." Peter Csonka, deputy head of the council's economic crime division, said industry officials have had adequate time to comment on the draft convention, begun in 1997, even though a public draft was not released until April.

Still, during a meeting with U.S. industry officials in Washington last week, council officials indicated they may be open to further changes beyond December, according to a source who attended the meeting.

Meanwhile, a report released last week by a high-tech consulting firm run by former Clinton administration official Bruce McConnell found many countries' laws are outdated and inconsistent. Of the 50 countries surveyed, 33 have not updated their laws to address major cybercrimes.