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Countries signed their first UN treaty targeting cybercrime in Hanoi on Saturday, despite opposition from an unlikely band of tech companies and rights groups warning of expanded state surveillance. The new global legal framework aims to strengthen international cooperation to fight digital crimes, from child pornography to transnational cyberscams and money laundering. Over 60 countries were seen to sign the declaration Saturday, which means it will go into force once ratified by those states. UN secretary general Antonio Guterres described the signing as an “important milestone”, but that it was “only the beginning”. “Every day, sophisticated scams, destroy families, steal migrants and drain billions of dollars from our economy… We need a strong, connected global response,” he said at the opening ceremony in Vietnam’s capital on Saturday. Critics say its broad language could lead to abuses of power and enable the cross-border repression of govt critics. “There were multiple concerns raised throughout the negotiation of the treaty around how it actually ends up compelling firms to share data,” said Sabhanaz Rashid Diya, founder of the Tech Global Institute think tank.
