Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)

“Broadly scoped, ambiguous, and nonspecific international cooperation measures with few conditions and safeguards are simply a recipe for disaster that can put basic privacy and free expression rights at risk” – EFF

The final text will result in the rewriting of criminal and surveillance laws around the world, affecting millions of people. That’s why EFF and their international allies have been fighting to ensure the draft convention includes robust human rights protections.

“Something must be done about the way that tech abuses the press—but that something shouldn’t depend on tech’s eternal dominance. It shouldn’t make the press beholden to a scandal-haunted tech sector that desperately needs the scrutiny of investigative journalists” – EFF

Before taking such a drastic step to restrict TikTok, the government must come forward with specific evidence showing, at the very least, a real problem and a narrowly tailored solution.

The court’s decision in Twitter v. Garland is seen as a disappointing, dangerous opinion that may well empower even broader uses of government power to censor speech by unwilling participants in government investigations.

“From internet shutdowns, crackdowns on expression and closed-door partnerships to attempts to restrict anonymity and end to end encryption, in many places, digital rights are under threat.”

In a joint letter, human rights organizations and academics stressed that while they are not convinced that a global cybercrime convention is necessary, they reiterate the need for a human-rights-by-design approach in the drafting of the proposed UN Cybercrime Convention.

“Plaintiffs are right – Orange County’s program violates residents’ constitutional right to privacy and should be stopped” – EFF