CyberLaw Blog

Archive for the ‘CoE’ Category

Cybercrime talks end in failure

US and Euros object to proposed changes: Plans to ratify an updated version of a global treaty against cybercrime have failed.…

(Via The Register – Public Sector.)

Directorate of Communication – Cybercrime lawmakers call for worldwide implementation of the Budapest Convention

Press release – 254(2010)
Cybercrime lawmakers call for worldwide implementation of the Budapest Convention

Strasbourg, 25.03.2010 – At its 5th annual conference on cybercrime, the Council of Europe called for a worldwide implementation of its Convention on Cybercrime to sustain legislative reforms already underway in many countries and a global capacity-building initiative to combat web-based crimes and enhance trust in information and communication technologies.

Participants underlined the need to make the best possible use of existing tools, instruments, good practices and initiatives. They recommended that a global action plan be launched by the Council of Europe and the United Nations to get a clearer picture of criminal justice capacities and urgent needs, mobilise resources, provide support and assess progress made.

‘The UN Crime Congress in April 2010 will be an opportunity to reinforce our global response to the global threat of cybercrime and cyberterrorism. I think we will have the best chance to succeed if we unite around one international instrument which already exists – namely the Council of Europe Cybercrime Convention,’ said Council of Europe Deputy Secretary General Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, speaking at the opening of the conference.

Countries worldwide have been turning to the Budapest Convention since its adoption in 2001. During the conference, Portugal announced the ratification of the Convention and Argentina has made a request for accession.

The conference also highlighted the need to further establish dynamic partnerships between the public and private sectors and their shared responsibility in ensuring security and protecting human rights on the Internet. In this context, the conference proposed the establishment of a contact list for enhanced co-operation between law enforcement and industry.

Last but not least, participants called on ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) to strengthen its oversight role of the Internet domain name registration process in order to allow both the protection of private data of individual registrants (in particular in the WHOIS database) as well as the opportunity for law enforcement to use the database to fight cybercrime and cyberterrorism.

The Council of Europe will continue to address the issue of ‘cloud computing’ and intends to ensure that globally trusted privacy and data protection standards and policies are put in place, and that both its Cybercrime Convention and its Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data are applied more widely and efficiently. A human rights and privacy dimension should be brought in the discussions of next year’s conference on cybercrime.

Held in Strasbourg from 23 to 25 March, the conference brought together 300 cybercrime experts from some 60 countries, the private sector and international organisations to also discuss ways of combating online child pornography, mapping networks and initiatives as well as training for judges and prosecutors.

The conclusions of the conference will be made available at: www.coe.int/cybercrime.

CoE – Recommendation 1855 (2009) – The regulation of audio-visual media services: (Council of Europe)
The Parliamentray Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) points out that media regulation must respect freedom of expression and information. Technological change in the audiovisual media has made it necessary to revise the European Convention on Transfrontier Television (ECTT), whose aim is to ensure freedom of transmission and retransmission of broadcasting in Europe regardless of frontiers. It proposed that the current revision of the ECTT should respect this freedom, define the ‘public service mission’ of audiovisual media services and re-examine the role of the Standing Committee with regard to its supervisory function over compliance with convention obligations and arbitration. PACE also proposed that measures should be taken to address the allocation of radio-frequency spectrum following the analogue switch-off of broadcasting in many countries as well as the independence of national regulators for the audiovisual media sector.

(Via QuickLinks Update.)

CoE – Recommendation 1882 (2009) on the promotion of Internet and online media services appropriate for minors:: (Council of Europe)
In a recommendation, the Parliamentary Assembly calls on the member states to increase protection for minors who use Internet and online media services, particularly through the use of parental filter systems. PACE also urges the member states to support the creation of secure, restricted-access networks which filter content harmful to minors and comply with codes of conduct. In addition to technological solutions, the Assembly favours measures to raise public awareness, focusing on the risks and opportunities for minors using Internet and online media services. It also recommends that the Committee of Ministers work towards ensuring greater legal responsibility of Internet service providers for illegal content, and that it call on the member states which have not yet signed the Convention on Cybercrime and its Additional Protocol to do so without delay

(Via QuickLinks Update.)

This speech will be delivered in Strasbourg on Thursday, 08 October, 2009

Intervention Speech for the Cross-Border Internet: Consultation meeting organised by the Council of Europe, Strasbourg, 8-9 October 2009.
By Dr. Yaman Akdeniz, Associate Professor in Law, Faculty of Law, Istanbul Bilgi University.

It is a great honour to be here today in Strasbourg at the Council of Europe, and to be very close to the European Court of Human Rights. For me, as an academic working in the field of human rights and new media, in particular with regards to legal and policy issues surrounding the Internet since the mid 1990s, the role of both the Council, and the European Court has been crucially important.

I recently attended the 1st Council of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for Media and New Communication Services A new notion of media? which took place in Reykjavik, Iceland (28-29 May 2009). It was noted by the Reykjavik Political Declaration document that “there is ongoing concern about the effective implementation in practice of Council of Europe standards on freedom of expression and information and freedom of the media.” (paragraph 9) I do strongly share these concerns.

New media historically face suspicion and are liable to excessive regulation as they spark fear of potential detrimental effects on society. For example, this has proved true for the publication and transmission of sexually explicit content through the printing press, the telegraph, telephone, post, cinema, theatre, radio, television, satellite, and video.

Today, many states are reacting negatively to the availability and dissemination of certain types of content through the new media, in particular through the Internet. Today, there remains major concern about the availability of sexually explicit content including child pornography, racist content, hate speech, terrorist propaganda, and documents related to terrorism, as well as pirated content on the Internet. Such threats resulted and continue to result with state intervention (including in the Council of Europe region) through the development of regulatory, self-regulatory, as well as technological solutions.

However, there remains growing concern about the impact of some of the regulatory solutions adopted at state level or actions taken by the Member States of the Council of Europe on fundamental human rights as enshrined by the European Convention on Human Rights.

Based on the limited effectiveness of state laws, a number of states started or starting to introduce policies to block access to websites or other content on the Internet deemed illegal which are outside their jurisdiction. However, blocking policies are not always subject to due process principles, decisions are not necessarily taken by the courts of law, and often administrative bodies or hotlines decide which content or website should be subject to blocking. Often blocking policies lack transparency, and the administrative bodies lack accountability. Therefore, increasingly, the compatibility of blocking action is questioned with regards to the fundamental right of freedom of expression. There could be a breach of Article 10 if blocking measures or filtering tools are used at state level to silence politically motivated speech on the Internet, or the criteria for blocking or filtering is secret, or the decisions of the administrative bodies and hotlines are not publicly made available for legal challenge.

The public’s right to receive information provided by mass media is widely accepted in international law. Indeed the European Court of Human Rights established that “not only does the press have the task of imparting such information and ideas, the public also has a right to receive them,” and to receive and impart information is a precondition of freedom of expression. If as the European Court of Human Rights established, freedom of expression is “one of the basic conditions for the progress of democratic societies and for the development of each individual,” the Internet is probably the best venue to realise democracy and development of each individual.

Bearing in mind that alternative views could find a more open platform on the Internet, freedom to seek and receive information and ideas, should especially be underlined as the burden on the receivers will be higher than ever if States adopt blocking and filtering policies. As was stated by the Reykjavik Political Declaration efforts have to be increased to ensure that fundamental human rights such as freedom of expression as well as privacy of communications, underpinned by the rule of law, do not fall victims to such circumstances.

Finally, I note that increasingly, there is more emphasis on involving all stakeholders (both public and private) and relevant intergovernmental and international organisations within the Internet governance models and debate. Undoubtedly, governments do have authority over public policy, while the private sector (Internet industry + the ISPs) have expertise with regards to technical issues and infrastructure. Societal, community, and human rights issues are addressed by the civil society representatives and organisations. International organisations such as the Council of Europe can co-ordinate and facilitate the development of standards together with all the relevant stakeholders. I am therefore confident that the concerns that I raise today will be addressed through the future work of the Council of Europe.

Dr. Yaman Akdeniz (LLB, MA, PhD), Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, Istanbul Bilgi University; Visiting Senior Research Fellow, School of Law, University of Leeds. Akdeniz is also the founder of Cyber-Rights.Org (http://www.cyber-rights.org) based in the UK, Cyber-Rights.Org.TR (http://www.cyber-rights.org.tr) based in Turkey, and the co-founder of BilgiEdinmeHakki.org (http://www.bilgiedinmehakki.org), a pressure group working in the field of freedom of information law in Turkey. His recent publications include Internet Child Pornography and the Law: National and International Responses (London: Ashgate, 2008: ISBN: 0 7546 2297 5), and Internet: Restricted Access: A Critical Assessment of Internet Content Regulation and Censorship in Turkey (co-authored with Kerem Altiparmak), Ankara: IHOP, 2008, at . Racism on the Internet will be published by the Council of Europe Publishing during 2009. For further information about his work see . Akdeniz can be contacted at lawya@cyber-rights.org.

CoE – Recommendation on measures to protect children against harmful content and behaviour (Council of Europe)
Recommendation CM/Rec(2009)5 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on measures to protect children against harmful content and behaviour and to promote their active participation in the new information and communications environment.

(Via QuickLinks Update.)

Directorate of Communication – Council of Europe Conference of Justice Ministers – Twelve Council of Europe member states sign the Convention on Access to Official Documents

Press release – 486(2009)

Council of Europe Conference of Justice Ministers – Twelve Council of Europe member states sign the Convention on Access to Official Documents

Tromsø (Norvège), 18.06.2009 – Twelve Council of Europe member states today signed the Convention on Access to Official Documents (CETS n° 205), the first binding international legal instrument laying down a general right of access to official documents.

This new Council of Europe Convention is the first binding international legal instrument to recognise a general right of access to official documents held by public authorities. Transparency of public authorities is a key feature of good governance and an indicator of whether or not a society is genuinely democratic and pluralist, opposed to all forms of corruption, capable of criticising those who govern it, and open to enlightened participation of citizens in matters of public interest. The right of access to official documents is also essential to the self-development of people and to the exercise of fundamental human rights. It also strengthens public authorities’ legitimacy in the eyes of the public, and its confidence in them.

Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Hungary, Lithuania, Montenegro (*), Norway, Serbia (**), Slovenia, Sweden and ‘the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia’ signed the Convention at the beginning of the 29th Conference of the European Ministers of Justice which is being held on domestic violence on 18 and 19 June in Tromsø. The convention will enter into force once it has been ratified by five states.

The Convention sets forth the minimum standards to be applied in the processing of requests for access to official documents (forms of and charges for access to official documents), review procedure and complementary measures. Limitations on the right of access to official documents are only permitted in order to protect certain interests like national security, defence or privacy.

Establishing a common basis of minimum standards, derived from the widely diverse experience and practice found within the Council of Europe’s 47 member States, the Convention has the flexibility required to allow national laws to build on this foundation and provide even greater access to official documents.

It was a good conference after all, and I am glad I attended this event in Iceland. [Yaman Akdeniz]

Directorate of Communication – Reykjavik conference maps out future Council of Europe work on media and the Internet: “Press release – 435(2009)

Reykjavik conference maps out future Council of Europe work on media and the Internet

Reykjavik, 29.05.2009 – Ministers and representatives from the 47 Council of Europe member states today adopted an Action Plan that outlines the direction of the organisation’s future work on media and the Internet.

In a political declaration adopted at the 1st Council of Europe Conference of Ministers Responsible for Media and New Communication Services on 28-29 May, they stated that the Council of Europe should explore the notion of media and, if necessary, review the concept itself, establishing criteria for distinguishing media or media-like services from new forms of personal communication.

The ministers asked the Organisation to assess in consultation with relevant stakeholders whether the existing freedom of expression and information standards for traditional media should apply to new media and service providers, or if new ones should be elaborated. As for traditional media, they supported self-regulation as the basic way for ensuring compliance with freedom of expression standards. They also highlighted that new service providers – such as ISPs, content aggregators or search engines – should be made aware of their rights and their duties and responsibilities.

In the conference, the ministers also adopted resolutions on the new notion of media, critical Internet resources, and the protection of freedom of expression and information with regard to anti-terrorist laws.

The ministers resolved to review national anti-terrorist laws and practice on a regular basis to ensure that any impact on freedom of expression and information is consistent with the Council of Europe standards, in particular the case law of the European Court of Human Rights 1.

They stated that although in some cases it is inappropriate to disseminate particular information in order to prevent terrorist acts in the interest of an ongoing investigation, the protection of the victims or judicial proceedings, ‘reporting on terrorism cannot be equated to supporting terrorism’. They also underlined that concerns have been raised that, in some cases, anti-terrorist laws restricting freedom of expression and information in member states are ‘too broad, fail to define clear limits to authorities´ interference or lack sufficient procedural guarantees to prevent abuse’.

With regard to the Internet, they called on all states and non-state actors to explore ways to ensure that critical Internet resources are managed in the public interest and as a public asset, even by elaborating an international legal instrument. They also asked the Council of Europe to explore the feasibility of elaborating a treaty to further protect cross-border Internet traffic. Finally, they called on the Council of Europe to make more lasting arrangements for organising Pan-European Internet governance events.

Organised under the theme ‘A new notion of media?’ the conference was organised by the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture of Iceland and the Council of Europe.

(1) The Russian Federation supported all the adopted texts with the exception of this undertaking.

Political Declaration and resolutions

Practical information:

– The sessions of the ministerial conference are available in video webcast on www.ministerialconference.is
– For further information, please contact Jaime Rodriguez (Tel. +33 3 89 99 50 42; jaime.rodriguez@coe.int)

Council of Europe Directorate of Communication
Tel: +33 (0)3 88 41 25 60
Fax:+33 (0)3 88 41 39 11
pressunit@coe.int
www.coe.int”

(Via .)

CoE – Countries Move Forward on Cybercrime Treaty: “(IDG News Service)
Countries are ratifying the only global cybercrime treaty slower than expected, but many are closer to implementing it, a senior Council of Europe official said. The Convention on Cybercrime, adopted in 2001, defines legal guidelines for countries seeking to establish effective laws against computer crime. The Council of Europe (COE), an organization composed of 47 European countries, has spearheaded a drive to help countries either create computer crime laws or bring existing ones in line with the treaty. So far 24 countries have ratified it, with Germany being the latest one. Twenty-three others have signed it but not ratified it. The COE was hoping that as many as 40 countries would have ratified it by the year, but the pace has been slower than expected, said Alexander Seger, head of the COE’s economic crime division.”

(Via QuickLinks Update.)

: “Protecting human rights on the Internet

Council of Europe launches guidelines in cooperation with online games and Internet service providers

(03/10/08) The Council of Europe today launched, in close cooperation with European online game designers and publishers and with Internet service providers, two sets of guidelines which aim to encourage respect and promote privacy, security and freedom of expression when, for example, accessing the Internet, using e-mail, participating in chats or blogs, or playing Internet games.

See guidelines for:
- online games providers [pdf, 1542KB]
- Internet service providers [pdf, 1599KB]“

(Via .)