- Governments and private industry should recognise that co-operation in preventing and combating cyber-crime is in their mutual interest. They should design and implement solutions together to protect society against this type of criminality. This protection should embrace the legitimate interests of users of information technology (e.g. privacy, access to information) and their own interests (e.g. safety of technologies and communication networks);
- Governments should agree on a common criminal policy to prevent and deter cyber-crime, the minimum elements of which should be based on the Council of Europe’s draft Convention on cyber-crime, i.e. the criminalisation of certain types of illegal conduct, the adoption of powers necessary for the investigation and prosecution of such offences and the obligation to provide a range of assistance to other countries. Governments should promote the early adoption of this draft Convention by the Council of Europe and spare no effort to ratify and implement it as soon as possible.
- Governments need to ensure that their laws and practices provide for a proper balance between the interests of effectively investigating and prosecuting cyber-crime and the respect of fundamental human rights, including in particular the right to freedom of expression and respect for privacy.
- Participants welcome the intention of the Hungarian Government to organise the signing ceremony of the Council of Europe’s draft Convention on Cyber-crime.
Budapest, 12. June 2001.
