Security News > 2023 > August > Microsoft ain't happy with Russia-led UN cybercrime treaty

A controversial United Nations proposal has a new foe, Microsoft, which has joined the growing number of organizations warning delegates that the draft version of the UN cybercrime treaty only succeeds in justifying state surveillance - not stopping criminals, as originally intended.

"The risk is that the treaty will not be a tool for prosecuting criminals but rather a weapon that allows for intrusive data access and surveillance instruments," she wrote in a LinkedIn post.

Microsoft's concerns come as UN delegates meet in New York this week to update the cybercrime treaty, which is supposed to both define online crime and address how member states can work together to address the problem.

Russia originally proposed the international treaty with support from countries including China and North Korea.

Some suggestions from these and other authoritarian regimes worry Western member states, along with human rights and digital privacy advocates, which fear the treaty will encourage legalized surveillance across borders and criminalize online speech.

Microsoft would like to see an updated draft that will "Increase transparency by allowing technology providers to give notice to users when their data is requested, unless doing so might compromise a criminal investigation," Hogan-Burney added.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/08/30/microsoft_un_cybercrime_treaty/