The Convention, which aims to harmonise laws on hacking, piracy,
on-line fraud and child pornography, will now go before the Council
of Ministers which is expected to adopt it by September. It will
then be ready for signature by the Council of Europe’s 43 members
at the Council’s November meeting in Budapest. The Convention has
also been supported by the US, Japan and other non-member states,
all of which will be invited to sign it. Following signature,
states will be expected to ratify the Convention by implementing
its provisions into their domestic laws.
The draft Convention still faces criticism from privacy
activists and industry. Most recently, US companies expressed
concern that police of former Soviet-bloc nations might exploit new
powers it provides. They worry that all ISPs, telcos and other
businesses would have to co-operate with warrants issued by foreign
courts, exposing their trade secrets. These groups continue to
lobby their politicians, urging them to oppose the Convention.
Council representatives have dismissed such concerns, describing
the document as “the first ever international treaty to address
criminal law and procedural aspects of various types of criminal
behaviour directed against computer systems, networks or data and
other types of similar misuse.”
For the convention to become effective, it must be ratified by
five countries, at least three of which must be Council of Europe
members. Ratification is expected over the course of the next two
years.
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