Strange world: Big Brother in Sweden?

Published on Thursday 19 June 2008 22:12

SWEDEN is renowned as a country that bends over backwards to protect human and civil rights.

But the Swedish parliament has just voted through controversial new laws which allow the security forces to spy on all cross-border e-mail and telephone traffic.

The national security service (or Sapo in Swedish) will now be able to scan all cross-border telephone calls, faxes and e-mails without needing a court order. It is also empowered to monitor websites visited by Swedish citizens.

The move has brought swift criticism from Google and its "global privacy" lawyer, Peter Fleischer. "We have made it clear to the Swedish authorities that we will never place any Google servers in Sweden if this proposition becomes reality," he said.

"This proposal seems like something invented by Saudi Arabia and China. It has no place in a western democracy."

Scandinavia's telephone network routes local phone calls through exchanges in neighbouring countries, so internet data and calls passing through Sweden on their way between two other countries would also fall within the jurisdiction of the new law.

So be careful if you e-mail Norway, Denmark or Finland from the UK.