U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris has announced that the US will join the Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace – a voluntary agreement between 80 nations, local governments, and technology companies focused on promoting cybersecurity and “preserving the open, interoperable, secure, and reliable Internet.”
The announcement came during a diplomatic trip to Paris, where she met with French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss relevant issues.
Macron launched the initiative in 2018 and has long called for US support, but former President Donald Trump refused to join the agreement because both China and Russia had not signed up.
An official White House statement said the US “looks forward to continued partnership with France and other governments, private sector, and civil society around the world to advance and promote norms of responsible behavior in cyberspace.”
The Paris Call includes nine principles, including the protection of individuals and infrastructure, the protection of the Internet, the defence of electoral processes, the protection of intellectual property, the non-proliferation of malicious software, lifecycle security, cyber hygiene, the prohibition of private actors from “hacking back,” and the implementation of international standards of “of responsible behavior.”
The agreement paved the way for major changes in Europe and South America, including tighter cybersecurity measures for emergency call systems, domain name protection, and more prominent bug bounty programs.