Countries sign their first UN treaty targeting cybercrime in Hanoi on Saturday, despite opposition from an unlikely band of tech companies and rights groups warning of expanded state surveillance.

The new global legal framework aims to strengthen international cooperation to fight digital crimes, from child pornography to transnational cyberscams and money laundering.

Vietnam’s President Luong Cuong has described the signing as a “historic milestone”.

It sends “a strong message about our determination to fight cybercrime and build a world of peace, justice, and the rule of law, for the benefit of today’s and future generations”, he said last month.

The UN Convention against Cybercrime was first proposed by Russian diplomats in 2017, and approved by consensus last year after lengthy neg

See Full Page