Published 28 September 2024 at 18.18
Domestic. During Thursday, S, M, L and KD voted yes to the mass surveillance package Chat control in the Riksdag's justice committee. V, SD, C and MP were against but were overruled.
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Sweden thus says yes to the EU's controversial bill concerning mass surveillance of digital communications .
The moderates went to the polls saying no to chat control but it turned out to be a lie. After the election, the party changed its mind and instead said yes to the surveillance package.
— This is a new low in Swedish politics when it comes to how quickly you break your promises, stated C-top Niels Paarup-Petersen, whose party together with SD was against the new surveillance.
The Green Party's Rebecka Le Moine advocates instead the milder version from the EU Parliament, which protects personal privacy better. She emphasizes that the current proposal involves too extensive surveillance.
The moderates' group leader in the justice committee, Mikael Damsgaard, claims that the party's position has «evolved» and that it now wants to create a balance between the protection of children online and privacy issues.
He believes that the current version is improved compared to the original proposal, which however essentially had the same content.
Sweden and other EU countries must agree on the final version before the Council of Ministers , the Parliament and the Commission can take a joint decision. It is thus still unclear when — and if — mass surveillance can begin.
Given the divided opinions throughout the EU, it is uncertain if and when the proposal will be adopted, but discussions will continue ahead of the EU ministerial meeting later this autumn.