WS 7: Criminal justice in cyberspace – what’s next?

Rapporteur: Cedric Amon, Geneva Internet Platform

• Finding the right balance between the control of online content and upholding fundamental rights will remain an important challenge. Given that most incidents are occurring across borders and that there is no common definition of crime and terrorism, co-operation between states (and with the private sector) on such matters is crucial.

• The use of artificial intelligence by law enforcement provides a big opportunity but must be explored diligently because it requires vast amounts of resources as well as an advanced understanding of the technology. It should however not be implemented without human oversight.

• The flurry of activity to create new norms that deal with cybercrime bears the risk of increasing legal fragmentation as well as only finding agreements on minimum standards. It is thus important to avoid falling below already existing standards such as the Budapest Convention.

• Due to increasing levels of encryption and anonymisation by cyber criminals, alternatives must be found in terms of upholding privacy protections while allowing law enforcement to protect users online (and offline).