A hot potato: A controversial proposal to strengthen international cooperation against cybercrime has won US support. The Biden administration is interested in signing the treaty, while politicians continue to warn of its potential for misuse and human rights abuse.

Senior US government officials have confirmed that the Biden Administration is prepared to support a United Nations treaty on cybercrime. The legally binding agreement would be a first and could help shape future UN legal initiatives and cooperation in combating and investigating cyber threats.

The treaty supports a global criminalization of child sexual abuse material and the non-consensual online distribution of intimate images. Officials said the treaty could also help the United States gain more comprehensive access to digital evidence related to cybercrime, while new extradition rules would help with arrests and investigations.

The US, Europe and other nations initially opposed the treaty. According to the timeline of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Russian Federation present an initial draft letter from 2017. The resolution calling for a new international treaty against cybercrime was also sponsored by Belarus, Cambodia, China, Iran, Syria and other “rogue nations” with no particular interest in defending the rights of people to ride and fair trials.

Human rights organizations opposed the draft, calling on the UN General Assembly to vote against the resolution. However, the governing body created an Ad Hoc Committee (AHC) to draft a new convention to combat the use of communication technologies for criminal purposes, which seemed more acceptable.

Earlier this year, AHC achieved a agreement on the new project, which is now awaiting official adoption. The treaty will likely pass a General Assembly vote. However, human rights advocates and NGOs continue to describe the convention as a serious threat to privacy, security, freedom of expression and the safety of AI.

A recent letter from six Democratic US senators said Russia, China and other authoritarian regimes could exploit the treaty to increase their censorship efforts, violate online privacy and abuse human rights. Washington has said it will impose safeguards against human rights abuses, with the Justice Department refusing to cooperate in blatant attempts at abuse.

“While the executive’s efforts to steer this treaty in a less harmful direction are laudable, more must be done to prevent the convention from being used to justify such actions,” the Democrats’ letter said.

Unnamed officials told Bloomberg that the Biden Administration will not support any UN resolution unless it implements adequate safeguards in the new treaty.