Cybersecurity Policy Report, Citing Potential ‘Misuse,’ U.S. Withholds Support for UN Cyber Crime Treaty, (Oct 29, 2025)
The U.S. government “will stop at nothing to target, prosecute, disrupt, and dismantle” cyber crime networks, but it has concerns about a United Nations cyber crime treaty that was opened for signatures last weekend, according to a statement posted yesterday on a U.N. website.
“Recognizing our unique position as a major host of ISPs, the United States continues to review the UN Convention against Cybercrime,” the statement notes.
The statement suggests that the U.S. government has concerns about the treaty’s provisions being used by authoritarian governments to justify the prosecution of dissidents, human rights advocates, journalists, and cybersecurity researchers under the guise of policing cyber crime.
“As we engage in treaty-related discussions, we will not sit back and watch China, Russia, and others try to suppress freedom of expression or obtain data in a manner inconsistent with the obligations in the treaty. We will strongly condemn any efforts to misinterpret or seek to misuse the treaty as cover to unlawfully target U.S. citizens and businesses,” it says.
The treaty was opened for signatures in Hanoi, Vietnam, last weekend and will remain open through Dec. 31, 2026. Its enactment requires the signatures of 40 nations. Although 72 nations signed the treaty, those governments still must make their support official according to their “own procedures,” according to the U.N. (CPR, Oct. 27).
The treaty would encourage nations that ratify it to adopt laws to enable national authorities to seize data and systems associated with cyber crime and to comply with requests from other nations for electronic evidence.
News: InternationalLegislation DataSecurity DataPrivacy