• The United Nations is currently negotiating a new international treaty on cybercrime which includes language that, if adopted, would impose surveillance requirements on cryptocurrency and threaten financial privacy worldwide.
• Article 93 of the draft treaty would require all nations that sign the treaty to implement onerous financial surveillance laws for cryptocurrency, applying to any organization “engaged in activities related to the circulation of digital financial assets and digital currency”.
• This broad language could be interpreted to include software developers, custodial and self-hosted wallet providers, potentially leading to sweeping surveillance of crypto worldwide.
UN Cybercrime Treaty Could Lead To Sweeping Surveillance Of Crypto Worldwide
The United Nations is currently negotiating a new international treaty on cybercrime which includes language that, if adopted, would impose surveillance requirements on cryptocurrency and threaten financial privacy worldwide. Article 93 of the draft treaty would require all nations that sign the treaty to implement onerous financial surveillance laws for cryptocurrency, applying to any organization “engaged in activities related to the circulation of digital financial assets and digital currency”. This broad language could be interpreted to include software developers, custodial and self-hosted wallet providers.
Potential Impact On Crypto Companies
Marta Belcher and Kurt Opsahl from the Filecoin Foundation have argued that this language has potential implications for crypto companies as it will require them to implement intrusive mass surveillance systems turning over financial information automatically to governments all over the world. This could lead to sweeping surveillance of crypto users around the world by governments seeking access into their transactions, data and more – threatening user privacy everywhere.
U.S.’s Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act
This article draws parallels with a bill introduced in U.S Senate known as Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act (DAML). DAML is another piece of legislation which seeks out similar outcomes using similarly broad language with potentially disastrous consequences for user privacy if implemented without adequate safeguards against abuse or misuse by government agencies or other entities looking into private transactions without proper authorization or oversight. It remains unclear how such measures can be effectively monitored once implemented due to lack of transparency surrounding certain governmental activities as well as limited resources available for such monitoring efforts.
Negotiating The Terms Of The Treaty
The second round of negotiations are set begin this Tuesday with regards to this UN Cybercrime Treaty which will seek further details about its implementation moving forward including more specifics regarding what type of organizations qualify under its expansive definition when it comes down implementing these surveillance mechanisms across different countries worldwide – making sure there are enough safeguards built within it so as not infringe upon user rights while still achieving its ultimate goal of preventing malicious actors from taking advantage for illegal purposes through cryptocurrencies .
Conclusion
It remains uncertain how much traction this proposed UN Cybercrime Treaty will gain after negotiations conclude but one thing is clear: its passage has massive implications not only in terms of user privacy but also global finance markets given how much money flows through cryptocurrencies every day – making it essential that those responsible take extra precautions when drafting its terms before signing off on anything final so as not cause unintended consequences down line later on where people’s rights may be violated without proper oversight or authorization granted beforehand by appropriate authorities involved with these negotiations process itself