Russia and China's UN Cyber Crime Treaty: Redefining Crime to Authorize Persecution of Dissent. Ivana Stradner (Foundation for Defense of Democracies) discusses the UN cyber crime treaty drafted largely by Russia and China, which is likely to be approved

Russia and China's UN Cyber Crime Treaty: Redefining Crime to Authorize Persecution of Dissent. Ivana Stradner (Foundation for Defense of Democracies) discusses the UN cyber crime treaty drafted largely by Russia and China, which is likely to be approved by the General Assembly and would replace the Budapest Convention of 2001. The treaty's terms would dangerously allow Russia and China to persecute citizens for what is understood as dissent and pursue other countries for commenting upon them. Stradner notes the treaty emphasizes "all power to the state, not to the individual," serving the goals of digital sovereignty and authorizing authoritarian countries to regulate information security. The United States must reject ratification. Stradner emphasizes that powerful offensive and defensive cyber capabilities, not UN treaties, are what deter Russia and China from cyber attacks against the West.