U.S. President Bush has asked the Senate to ratify the Council of Europe Cybercrime Convention, “a global agreement apparently created to help police worldwide cooperate to fight Internet crimes.” The treaty — which would override existing U.S. law — provides broad investigatory and surveillance powers to law enforcement authorities. It apparently also requires a high degree of cooperation between police of different nations. And it requires signatory nations to criminalize copyright infringement with a computer.

Articles on the subject are found at Alternet and CommonDreams.org.

You can read full text (in English or French) of the Convention on Cybercrime.

The U.S. Department of Justice has a FAQ on the Convention.

Privacy International has a detailed critique of the Convention (.pdf format).