[Nettime-nl] WORLD-INFO FLASH 0.2 ON_CYBERCRIME

[julia lazarus <julia@t0.or.at>]

13-11-2000
World-Information.Org
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WORLD-INFO_FLASH_0.2_ON_CYBERCRIME
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++ THE CYBER CRIME CONVENTION IN TROUBLE ++ OPENING 
23-11-2000 WORLD-INFORMATION EXHIBITION in Vienna, 
Austria, 7 p.m. - 24-11-2000 WORLD-INFORMATION 
FORUM from 2 p.m to 8 p.m. - 24-11-2000 PUREDATA ENSEMBLE 
PARTY, 8p.m. Interview with PHILIPPE QUÉAU ++ CYBER 
CRIME LINKS ++ compiled by http://world-information.org 

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THE CYBER CRIME CONVENTION IN TROUBLE
+ UK/USA vs. European Council +

The European Council's Cyber Crime Convention 
revised draft, presented a few weeks ago, is 
once again causing controversy. This time, though, 
it is not just privacy campaigners and the IT 
industry who attack the Convention's provisions 
and drafting process. It is the governments 
themselves who are falling victim to the absurdity 
of the security ideology. The Convention's Article 
3 demands national legislation against illegal 
interception of non-public computer networks, but 
entitles individual governments to exemption if 
these activities are not done with "dishonest intent". 
As pointed out in an article released by quintessenz, 
this exemption seems to allow for the economic spying 
carried out by governments through ECHELON, as it 
reflects Britain's and the US' line of legitimising 
ECHELON. It is the differences around the applicability 
of Article 3 that now seem to have become a stumbling 
block. The adoption of the Convention, previously 
scheduled for December, will not occur before at 
spring next year. 

THE CYBER COP´S DREAM

In the meantime, the concerned governments face no 
lesser task than deciding whether the use of Echelon 
for economic espionage is a "dishonest" purpose as 
defined in the Convention, reminiscent of a thieve 
drafting insurance documents.  It is not the first 
time the Convention gets entangled in its own pitfalls 
either. Ever since the Council began its work, the 
Convention has given rise to serious allegations 
concerning its incompatibility with basic human and 
civic rights, very much to the confusion of the 
experts, in whose dictionaries of technical standards 
"freedom of expression" and "right to privacy" do not 
occur. This is hardly surprising, as no democratically 
elected representatives took part in the drafting of 
the Convention. After all, the metaphysics of security 
defines the black hole in any democracy. 

This document, intended to combat criminal activities
by providing international standards and procedures 
for intercepting telecommunications, has therefore 
staggered along from one draft to the next like a 
heavily armed warrior pressed down under the weight 
of his weaponry, and guided by "kill it if it moves" 
logic: illegal MP3 files or other documents copied 
from the Internet without explicit agreement of the 
author would be enough to warrant communications 
monitoring by the police. In Article 18, police are 
allowed to "collect or record" data sent through 
computer systems, and even oblige service providers 
to release log files and install provisions for 
real-time monitoring.   

Before Governments will decide whether they want 
to declare themselves cyber criminals to be prosecuted 
under the Convention, some more time will pass. 
Whether this ambivalent situation will be met with 
more authority or more democracy will depend on how 
effective a critical voices can make themselves heard.   

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23-11-2000 7 p.m. 
OPENING of the WORLD-INFORMATION EXHIBITION
at the Vienna Museum of Technology - Austria
http://world-information.org/html/events/exhibitions/wie/

Through installations and artistic works, the 
WORLD-INFORMATION EXHIBITION demonstrates today's
world of information and its possibilities and 
effects on all aspects of life: the private environment, 
the workplace, politics, the economy, education, 
science and art. 


24-11-2000 2 p.m - 8 p.m. 
WORLD-INFORMATION FORUM
at the Vienna Museum of Technology - Austria
http://world-information.org/html/events/conferences/wif/

BEN BAGDIKIAN from the Graduate School of Journalism 
at the University of California (USA), KUNDA DIXIT, 
director of Panos South Asia and publisher of the Nepal 
Times (Nepal) and STEVE WRIGHT, director of the OMEGA 
foundation (UK) will discuss the overall effects of 
the new information and communication technologies 
on society. 

Further contributions will be provided by representatives 
of online media and by media activists, including HITO 
STEYERL, publicist and filmmaker (Germany), ALICE DVORSKA, 
Initiative Against Economic Globalisation (INPEG), 
MARION HAMM, IndyMedia (UK), and HONOR HAGER 
from Tate Modern London, r a d i o q u a l i a (UK/AUS).

Moderated by Pauline van Mourik Broekman, M u t e Magazine
London, UK


24-11-2000 8 p.m. 
PUREDATA ENSEMBLE PARTY
at the Vienna Museum of Technology - Austria

with World Radio Remote Audio System, one 
of the first interfaces for online jamming. 

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INTERVIEW WITH PHILIPPE QUÉAU

"What is the role that UNESCO and other inter
governmental organizations can play in the 
democratic shaping of the digital landscape?"

Philippe Quéau is Director of UNESCO's 
Information and Informatics Division  
http://world-information.org/html/newsroom/

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MORE ON THE SUBJECT OF CYBERCRIME:

Quintessenz
http://www.quintessenz.at/

Global Internet Liberty Campaign
http://www.gilc.org/

Privacy International
http://www.privacyinternational.org/issues/cybercrime/

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##
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is the Carrier of World-Information.Org
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In partnership with Brussels 2000 - 
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In cooperation with the Vienna Museum of Technology.

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