Information Policy Hot Topic 3 - Primary Contribution

The council of Europe (COE), headquartered in Strasbourg, France, has 41 member states (COE, 2000). Since 1949, the COE’s primary goal has been to guarantee the dignity of the citizens of Europe and to promote the unity of the continent. Other goals include finding solutions to the major problems facing the European community: racism, intolerance, discrimination, drug abuse, bioethics, social exclusion, environmental protection, corruption, and organized crime.

After more than three years of work, the COE recently posted the 22nd draft of its Convention on Cyber-Crime (Luening, 2000). The intent of the treaty is to harmonize European laws against hacking, fraud, computer viruses, child pornography, and other Internet crime. In addition, the treaty seeks to establish common methods of securing digital evidence to trace and prosecute criminals.

Areas of Concern

While the treaty may have been drafted with good intentions, there are many areas of concern. For example, the pact could have a negative effect on the free flow of information and ideas (CNET, 2000). A provision that forces ISPs to store user activity data would threaten personal privacy and create a data pool that could be “mined” to identify dissidents and to persecute minorities. Another treaty section requires access to encryption keys. This would force people to incriminate themselves. Overall, the treaty grants increased surveillance powers to European police agencies.

Areas of Commendation

The treaty’s attempt to establish common, mutually agreed upon methods of securing digital evidence is commendable. New requirements to have trained personnel available around the clock are vital to track down cross-border cyber-criminals. In addition, the treaty provides a set of mutually upon definitions of terms related to cyber‑crime.

Paradoxes

Many believe the new treaty runs contrary to established norms for the protection of the individual and that it improperly extends the authority of police. For example, the treaty’s ISP data storage requirements are clearly at odds with the European Union’s Directive on the Protection of Personal Data (EU, 1995).

References

CNET. (2000). Global Net Crime Treaty Updated Amid Concerns. Reuters. http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-202-3664446.html. Updated November 13, 2000. Accessed November 26, 2000.

COE. (2000). Public Relations - General Leaflet. Council of Europe. http://www.coe.fr/Press/Index.asp?Link=RPubE. Accessed November 26, 2000.

EU. (1995). Council Adopts Directive on Protection of Personal Data. Cordis. http://dbs.cordis.lu/cordis-cgi/srchidadb?ACTION=D&SESSION=259172000-11-25&DOC=7&TBL=EN_NEWS&RCN=EN_RCN_ID:4581&CALLER=EN_UNIFIEDSRCH. Updated July 26, 1995. Accessed November 25, 2000.

Luening, E. (2000). European Council Moves Net Crime Treaty Forward. CNET News. http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-202-3785827.html. Updated November 20, 2000. Accessed November 25, 2000.