In a “Global Civil Submission” handed to the Council of Europe today, European Digital Rights (EDRI), an association defending rights and freedoms online, has provided an opinion from civil society worldwide on the proposed protocol to the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime.
Alexander Seger, the Council of Europe’s anti-cybercrime coordinator, welcomed the submission: “Clear rules and more effective procedures are required to secure electronic evidence in the cloud in specific criminal investigations. Otherwise, governments will not be able to meet their obligation of protecting the rights of individuals and ensuring the rule of law in cyberspace. These procedures need to be subject to data protection and process safeguards. The Cybercrime Convention Committee will consult civil society, data protection organisations and industry when negotiating the protocol”.
Joe McNamee, Executive Director of EDRI said: “Global civil society is engaging in this process to ensure that any harmonisation in this crucial policy area is up to the highest human rights standards, in line with the ethos of the Council of Europe”.
In June 2017, the Cybercrime Convention Committee gave its green light to the preparation of a second additional protocol to the Convention. Negotiations are scheduled from September 2017 to December 2019.
Seventy States are either already party to the Budapest Convention, or have formally committed. At least 70 more countries have drawn on the Convention as a guideline for domestic legislation.
