ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the evolution of cybercrime and its impact on the global economy and examines the history and structure of the Council of Europe (CoE) and its relationship with the United States. It then explains the purpose and goals of CoE's Draft International Convention on Cybercrime. The chapter describes the criminal standards and penalties imposed by the terms of the Convention and contrasts the Convention with current United States copyright and cybercrime statutes. It dissects the major purported objections and challenges to the Convention from an American legal and Constitutional standard. The chapter proposes that the United States Congress refuse to take the final step of ratification of the Convention treaty as it exists now. It advocates that the need for an effective international force against cybercrime is real and concludes that fundamental American values and rights need not be sacrificed at the expense of a hasty preemptive strike at cybercrime.
