Crime Prevention in Cyber Environments

Resolution 428/2024 of the Ministry of Security, published in the Official Gazette on May 27, 2024, established guidelines, principles, criteria, recommendations, and directives to limit preventive functions to the use of open digital sources, public digital information, and communication platforms that are non-sensitive and unclassified, as long as accessing them does not infringe individuals' right to privacy.

The main objective of the Guidelines is to provide legal tools and investigative techniques for cybercrimes or crimes involving the presence or use of technology. The rationale behind these measures is that cybercrimes are a rapidly expanding form of criminal activity, affecting an increasing number of individuals and legal entities, as well as economies, systems, services, and critical infrastructures. Consequently, there is a need to establish coordinated and proactive mechanisms for the federal police and security forces to investigate.

The Guidelines outline the specific areas in which the Federal Police and the security forces will engage in preventive activities within the cyber environment, including—but not limited to—drug law violations; threats or extortions involving publishing images or data without the consent of those depicted; crimes related to sexual harassment; the production, financing, offering, trading, publication, facilitation, dissemination, or distribution of images of sexual abuse of minors; human trafficking; money laundering; terrorism; or any other crime that may be detected through cyberspace.

In the course of preventive work, the Guidelines require strict adherence to:

• The Argentine Constitution, international Human Rights covenants and treaties, federal laws and their regulations.
• The use of open digital sources.
• The analysis of the communicational characteristics of the medium and the alleged offender.
• The exclusion of regular, usual, or inherent behaviour related to Internet use.
• The need for a court order to use undercover agents.
• The destruction of information gathered that is not used in judicial proceedings.
• Compliance with the Personal Data Protection Law 25,326, specifically regarding sensitive data and information about minors.
• The prohibition of processing sensitive data or data concerning minors without a court order,
• The non-interference with freedom of expression, among others.

The Guidelines explicitly prohibit collecting information, producing intelligence, or storing data about individuals or users based solely on their race, religious beliefs, private actions, or political opinions. It also bans the use of illegal, prohibited, or invasive methods that violate human dignity for gathering information, communicating or publishing information that contravenes the principles established in the protocol, and including false data or information.

These Guidelines also foresee the Ministry of Security’s adaptation and supervision over the use of software or any technological device or tool for automated information processing based on artificial intelligence, expert systems, neural networks, or any other technology that may be developed in the future.

The regulation includes provisions to govern the procedures that the Federal Police and security forces must adopt during preventive activities, including the security, traceability, and auditing of reports generated during preventive work, the destruction of non-judicialized information, and the implementation of measures to safeguard the obtained information and protect it from potential leaks.