U.S. Considering Ratifying Cybercrime Treaty

waytoomuchcoffee writes "SecurityFocus has a new article on the Council of Europe's "Convention on Cybercrime". The U.S. has already signed the treaty, but it has not yet been ratified by the Senate (although President Bush has written a letter urging the treaty's passage). This treaty, among other items, would require the U.S. to "cooperate with foreign authorities" in conducting surveillance on American citizens who have committed no crime under U.S. law, but may have broken another country's law (selling historic Nazi posters on Ebay? Germany might have you wiretapped), prohibiting the "production, sale or distribution of hacking tools", whatever that means (would Nmap be illegal?) and require the U.S. to pass laws to "force users to provide their encryption keys" and the plain text of their encrypted files. Canada is a signatory as well."

Comments

The Worm Turns...

[Anonymous Coward]

Ha, how ironic! After years of imposing their IP laws on the rest of the world, the USians complains about this??? Not that USians understand irony....

Re:bad standards

[Halfbaked Plan]

You've really gotta get out more.

And I'm not talking about getting out of your dorm room and going out to talk to the Trotskyites at the next lit table on the campus mall.

Go out and meet some real people. Maybe at a bowling alley, or a public park.