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By Sarah Left, 21 November 2000 17:07

NEWS The proposal is part of the latest draft of the Council of Europe's (COE) cybercrime treaty, published today on its website - www.coe.int. The treaty seeks to harmonise laws across the 41 European member states as well as Canada, Japan, South Africa and the US. It hopes to step up the fight against activities such as hacking, computer-assisted fraud, and copyright violations. The treaty will also cover the interception of communications by security services, much as the RIP bill has done within the UK. Signatories to the treaty will be obliged to work together by setting up permanent, round-the-clock network points for international law enforcement officials. Peter Csonka, deputy head of the COE's economic crime division, said: "The contact points will be along the lines of Europol and Interpol, police network points that communicate speedily with each other and locate evidence or legal information." Csonka admitted internet privacy advocates have already been in contact with COE to express their concerns. But he said the objections are based on a misunderstanding of the treaty. He said: "These powers are not meant to enable the police to do whatever they want. The safeguards of the European Human Rights Convention remain intact." The COE has also amended the wording of the treaty to make sure "ethical hacking" by security firms will not constitute a criminal offence. Two and a half years of complex negotiations have gone into the treaty, and the COE hopes it will form the basis of international law on cybercrime. Csonka said: "It doesn't make sense for the treaty to be a European instrument. Most websites originate in the US, most of the internet traffic goes through the US, and the most important ISPs are in the US. It would be illusory to think we can do this without non-Europeans." A final draft of the treaty will be approved by an expert panel in December, and in January a political debate will begin in the Parliamentary Assembly. The COE hopes the treaty can be passed to member states for final approval by September next year and its provisions will then be incorporated into each state's national law.