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[infowar.de] EDRi: EU-Agreement Against Cyber-Attacks Harms Freedom of Expression
Infowar.de, http://userpage.fu-berlin.de/~bendrath/liste.html
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Aus: EDRI-gram
bi-weekly newsletter about digital civil rights in Europe
Number 4, 12 March 2003
http://www.edri.org/cgi-bin/index?funktion=view&id=000100000055
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3. AGREEMENT AGAINST CYBER-ATTACKS HARMS FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
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The Justice ministers of the EU countries (by means of the Council of
the
European Union) have agreed on a decision to harmonize the criminal code
in
EU countries regarding attacks on information systems.
The ministers agree that "there is evidence of attacks against
information
systems, in particular as a result of the threat from organised crime,
and
increasing concern at the potential of terrorist attacks against
information systems which form part of the critical infrastructure of
the
Member States." The proposal forces EU members states to make 'illegal
access to information systems' and 'illegal system interference' a
crime.
The proposal is widely criticized for being unbalanced. Especially
regarding illegal system interference (denial of service attacks) it
does
not distinguish between a terrorist that intends to inflict harm or a
non-violent protester that causes a system overload through email
protests
or virtual sit-ins. The proposal does not refer to freedom of expression
or
other fundamental rights and can have serious consequences for political
protest and campaigning on the internet.
European parliament member Marco Cappato criticized the proposal. "It
suits
the national justice ministries to criminalize activities on an EU-wide
level," Cappato said. "They seek greater coordination with regard to
prosecuting, but there is very little effort made to coordinate legal
defence."
Member states had difficulty to agree on the definition of hacking.
Illegal
access to information systems is defined as "intentional access without
right." According to that very broad definition, accessing an
unprotected
and 'open' computer can be a crime. Countries with a stricter definition
of
hacking however, are allowed to only punish wilful infringements of
security measures. An earlier proposal would have forced those member
states into judicial cooperation, creating great legal uncertainty for
internet users. Lawful behaviour in their own country could suddenly
have
landed them in a foreign jail.
Proposal for a Council Framework Decision on attacks against information
systems
http://register.consilium.eu.int/pdf/en/03/st06/st06671en03.pdf
2489th Council meeting justice and home affairs (27.02.2003)
http://ue.eu.int/pressData/en/jha/74719.pdf
EU pact would 'criminalize' Net protesters (04.03.2003)
http://www.iht.com/articles/88499.htm
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