Draft Convention On Cybercrime

niteshad writes: "The Department of Justice and the Senate are once again trying to curtail our rights to encrypted and anonymous speech on-line. This time, they're collaborating with the Council of Europe on the Draft Convention on Cybercrime. One clause of which would force anyone to surrender their encryption passphrase if suspected of a crime. Read more about it on Wired." This treaty isn't quite ripe yet, but it seems to be shaping up quite nicely as another disaster to online civil liberties.

Re:Find: password

[DaveHowe]

Hmm. 1.6.a.2, in context: Article 6 - Illegal Devices
Each Party shall adopt such legislative and other measures as may be necessary to establish as criminal offences under its domestic law when committed intentionally and without right:

a.the production, sale, procurement for use, import, distribution or otherwise making available of:

2. a computer password, access code, or similar data by which the whole or any part of a computer system is capable of being accessed with intent that it be used for the purpose of committing the offences established in Articles 2 - 5;

I can see where this makes posting the root password to microsoft.com a crime, but don't see how it gives LEAs the right to demand MY passwords...
--

Re:Question

[Rand Race]

I don't know of a ruling but it is an obvious violation of the fifth. I can't even think of a justification for forcing a password out of someone, but I'll bet good money they will find a way. To paraphrase Bob Wilson "I don't understand people who can read something that says 'Congress shall make no laws...' and interpret it to mean 'Congress shall make some laws...'"

And I still want to know why you have to 'claim' a right! Actually I do know, it's so they can trick you into incriminating yourself, so what I really want to know is how the hell did the lawyers get away with it!?

Comments?

[Rand Race]

The Wired article said "U.S. law enforcement officials helped to write the document, which was released for public comment last Thursday..."

Are they accepting public comments (and if so where?) or is 'public comment' just discussing it among ourselves?

How come when I see the term 'law enforcement officials' I read it as 'Dumbasses who haven't even bothered to read the bill of rights'?

Question

[Weezul]

Have american courts rules that passwords are protected by taking the 5th? The treaty is still a very bad thing because it will force many countries to take a shitty crypto position (like the UK's).

Where do I sign up?

[Mekanix]

This globalising of american stupidity and totalitarianism is getting way out of hand!

It's already "illegal" to surf the web in Denmark.

Which (European) civil right lobby/group do I send my money and support to?

And please hurry... I don't know when I will get sued for making a fart... ;-)

Bjarne

UK - world leaders in this field

[tagishsimon]

The Council of Europe may well be led by the UK, famous for its Regulation of Investigatory Powers (RIP) Bill, which has such cute measures as:

• Two years in prison for failing to reveal your password. That you may have mislaid or forgotten it will not be a defence.
• if, having suffered a miscarriage of justice under RIP, you decide to complain in public, you can be imprisoned for a further five years

More details of this scumsucking piece of legislation are available from www.stand.org.uk [stand.org.uk]. The UK has, historically, led Europe in many aspects of the information age (such as telecoms deregulation), and then there is the 'special relationship' we have with you Yanks. So, visit the future, read it & weep.

Passwords?

[DaveHowe]

Hmm. I found a fair amount of questionable stuff in there, for instance:

• 14.2 - Warrants to be extended to computer systems connected to, but not located at the site for which the warrant was issued
• 15.1 - Authority to order someone in your jurisdiction to provide you with data they have access to - note this doesn't say anything about where the data is....
• 16.3 - RIP style gagging order to be for the longest period of time allowed by law in that juristiction

Not to mention that warrants or any kind of judicial overview aren't mentioned, just that "legislative and other measures as may be necessary" be taken to ensure that "competent authorities" (also not defined) be able to perform the actions specified in this convention.

However, I can't find the bit about turning over passwords - can someone locate it in the Legalese for me?
--

Re:Passwords?

[Ig0r]

"...[other] computer systems connected to..." via the north american power grid?
>:|

--