AFP, UNITED NATIONSThe UN on Friday approved a Russian-led bid that aims to create a new convention on cybercrime, alarming rights groups and Western powers that fear a bid to restrict online freedom. The panel is to set up “a comprehensive international convention on countering the use of information and communications technologies for criminal purposes,” the resolution said. Russia has opposed the Budapest Convention, saying that giving investigators access to computer data across borders violates national sovereignty. The Budapest Convention was drafted by the Council of Europe, but other countries have joined, including the US and Japan. A new UN treaty on cybercrime could render the Budapest Convention obsolete, further alarming rights groups.

Source: Taipei Times December 28, 2019 15:56 UTC