Sweden

Changes over the last three months (Oct.-Dec. 98)

On-going developments

I - Historical and Juridical Viewpoint

1. Telecommunications legislation

Ministry of transport and communications submitted its Government Bill (Prop 1996/97:61, www.sb.gov.se) on a revised Swedish Telecom Act (SFS 1993:597) in March 1997. The Green Paper on a revised Swedish telecommunications regulation Modern telecommunications for everybody (Ds 1996:38) was presented in August 1996. Aspects considered in the Green Paper are: Eased regulations concerning establishment as operator on the Swedish market; a mandatory notification only is suggested. The contract between the state and Telia AB (the Swedish PTO) is suggested not to be renewed, but instead should Telia be submitted under the Telecom Act and hence become equal to other operators. A more co-ordinated process is suggested in that the National Post and Telecom Agency (PTS) - the supervisory authority in the matter - should have a strengthened and an overall responsibility for the procurement process as well as over user and competition issues in the telecommunication sector. The PTS will also have the possibility to restrict market access or demand the withdrawal of equipment that does not comply with essential requirements pursuant to the EC Telecommunication Terminal Equipment Directive. Further on, the Green Paper suggests that telecom operators shall make clear economical divisions between their network providing side and the service providing side of the organisation. This due to that a network provider is obliged to provide cost-priced network access to another operator in its proprietary network through interconnection agreements if the network provider has a substantial part of the market. The PTS is here suggested to be given a strong mediating position in cases of disagreements between different operators in matters concerning interconnection agreements. The Green Paper was sent out for public consultation in August 1996, with a request for points of view before October 1^st, 1996. A Government Bill was presented in March 1997. The enactment of the bill took place in July 1^st, 1997.

2. Environment

A Government Bill (1996/97:172) on how to handle waste products (electric and electronic products) has been submitted to the Swedish Parliament on the 12 of June 1997. The government suggest changes to the Act of Cleaning (1979:596) and to the Plan and Building Act (PBL 1987:10), with the objective to increase economising with natural resources. The changes are planned to take place on the 1 January 1998 and the 1 July 1998 respectively.

3. Swedish Data Act

The Datalagskommittén (Ju 1995:08, Dir 1995:91) , has recently submitted a report to the Government(SOU 1997:39, www.skolverket.se).The Committee is concerned with how the EC-directive about protection of personal information is to be incorporated into the Swedish Data Act. The committee’s starting-point is that the individual must be given a total protection of its integrity in the Information Society without restraining the use of new technology. A suggestion to a whole new Person Data Act has been published. Further on, the committee has given suggestions on changes to the Press Law (Tryckfrihetsförordningen) concerning the principle of public access to official records in the relation to modern electronic media. Suggestions to changes has also been made to the Secrecy Act, the Constitution, the Freedom of Speech Law and the Archive Act. The report which includes a proposed Government Bill has been submitted to the Government on the 2 April 1997(SOU 1997:39). The committee suggests that the new law will take effect 1 January 1999.

4. Tax Laws

A public consultation in the spring 1997 intends to exempt PCs borrowed from the employer for educational purposes, from fringe benefit taxation, as long as all categories of employees get the same offer.

5. Protection of personal information

The IT-Observatory started a project about the shaping of the future protection of personal information. The source for the project was the report regarding the Swedish Data Act which the Datalagskommittén (Ju 1995:08, Dir 1995:91),has submitted to the Government. The government submitted a Government Bill (1997/98:44) and Konstitutionsutskottet (KU) submitted a paper 1997/98:KU18)(www.rixlex.riksdagen.se). In September 1998, the Government published a paper on the new Personal Information Act (SFS 1998: 204) which will be implemented on October 24 1998. The Personal Information Act aims at protecting the personal integrity and is built on EU rules and the Datalagskommitténs report (See 1.3 Swedish Data Act above). By implementing the Personal Information Act, the Data Act of 1973 will become obsolete, but during a period of three years the two laws will live parallel together.

II - Changes and Adjustments over the Last Three Months (October - December 1998)

1. Protection of personal information

A seminar was held on November 26 about an alternative model to the Personal Information Act , the model of abuse. The largest difference is that the model of abuse only regulates the situation where personal information actually has been abused and not the use of personal information on beforehand.

III - On-going Developments

1. Legal aspect of the Cyberspace

The IT-observatory has held a seminar about the legal aspects of the Cyberspace, discussing how the millennium will influence the legislation. The IT Commission has submitted a report which summarises the seminar. The intention is to start a discussion moving this question towards legislation. The work is going on within the It Commission.

2. Bangemann Charter

The IT Observatory has studied a communication from the European Commission concerning the need to strengthen international co-ordination of work in the legal sphere and in this connection to work out a non-binding agreement. The IT Observatory is greatly interested in joining in the discussions referred to in the Commission’s communication and has submitted a paper on the issue.

3. Legal information and IT

The IT Commission held a seminar in April 1996 on the topic Legal information and IT. The aim was to focus on the possibilities to support standards and to ease and render more effective the access to legal information. This seminar resulted in a report from the IT Commission to the government. The government appointed an investigation group within the government. A report was submitted in February 1998 with suggestions to actions. The IT observatory held a new seminar together with "The foundation for legal information" on April 10^th 1998 to discuss the suggested actions. A report summarising these two seminars has been submitted (SOU 1998:109).

4. Consumers in the Information Society

The IT-observatory held a hearing on the 19^th September 1997, together with Swebizz and the Ministry of the Interior, regarding consumers in the Information Society. One objective was to get an overview of what activities are going on with regard to consumers and IT. Another objective was to get an idea about what legal questions are the most important to look closer into in order to protect consumers rights. A report was presented to the IT-Commission in March 1998 as a result of the hearing in September 1997. The Government appointed an investigation group on the 30^th of July 1998 (In 1998:06). The group is supposed to finish the work on the 1st of October 1999.

5. Digital penal law/criminal procedural law

The IT-observatory has started to look into crimes like falsification in a digital environment. The first discussions were held in December 1997. The work is in progress within the IT-observatory.

6. Coordinated legislation for radio, TV and telecommunications

On July 3 1997 the Government appointed a special investigation (Ku 1997:06) to look into the need for, and consequences of a co-ordinated legislation for radio, television, other radio communications and telecommunications. (dir. 1997:95). The starting point is that the legislation should facilitate the development of electronic services and take into account the different needs of the citizens, the industry and the society. The European Commission is presenting a green paper on this issue in 1997. A report is to be submitted on the 28 of February 1999.

7. Convergence

The IT-Commission held a hearing in June 1996 about the infrastructure for communication and information. One central issue was the need for a future common legislation for telecommunications, data, and media. The government need to direct the legislation work to this convergence. The work has been started in the government office.

8. Encryption

The IT-Commission recommends in an official letter to the Government that no regulation of cryptography should be introduced in Sweden. Today all communication is free to encryption in Sweden. The Government has appointed an investigator to submit a foundation for a Swedish policy on cryptography. In October 1997 a report was submitted on the encryption polices. It is the first step on a Swedish policy in the encryption area. The work is in progress within the government.

9. Electronic Media

• The IT Commission has submitted a report in February 1998, to the government on the topic " a Swedish framework for electronic business activity". The background is the need to secure that Sweden, with the public and private sector as well as private persons fully use the potential in doing business electronically, to make sure that Sweden is in the front line in this area. The government has submitted a report on this issue (1997/1998:190). The work is in progress within the government.

• The report Electronic document handling (SOU 1996:40,conducted by the IT-utredningen (Ju 1994:05), a governmental committee, was submitted to the minister of justice in March 1996. The report gives suggestions on changes to existing laws in the area of data transmission, i.e. legal redefinition that are necessitated by the replacement of traditional and established routines of document transmittal and verification by electronic documents and services. By including definitions such as electronic record, digital document, digital signature and digital stamp within the Administrative Procedure Act, the committee concludes that a natural way may be reached in solving the various legal questions that arise on the basis of the rules which are already established for paper documents. Suggestions to new regulations within the Code of Judicial Procedure and the Administrative Procedure Act concerning at what time a document that is transmitted electronically is deemed to have arrived to an agency, has as well been given. It has, by the committee, been suggested that this point of time, principally, should be that day at which the document has arrived to the agencies electronic address. Further on, it is suggested in the report that certain exceptions should be included in the Data Act so that an open discussions by the use of the so called Bulletin Board Systems not should be restrained. A Green Paper for revised regulations is expected. Work in progress.

• The Kommittén om nya medier och grundlagarna (Ju 1994:13) - a committee concerned with modern electronic media in the relation to the constitutions - has published a report in April 1997, aiming at presenting a collected strategy for the use of information technologies in public authorities and administrations within the cultural area. The committee has given suggestions on changes to the existing laws The Press Law (Tryckfrihetsförordningen) and Freedom of Speech Law (Yttrandefrihetsgrundlagen) saying that these laws should include also new electronic media. The work around The Press Law and The Freedom of Speech Law has been started in the IT Observatory in June 1998. The committee suggests that the new law will take effect 1 January 1999.

• A special investigator was appointed by Government (Dir. 1997:1) in January 1997 to analyse the juridical consequences of electronic money. The special investigator will as well suggest eventual changes in legislation and regulations effected. The aim of the report is to investigate how electronic money, e.g. in the form of use of smart cards and payments through data networks such as Internet, will be applied. Further on, the special investigator will investigate which institutions that are to be given the constitutions to issue electronic money and what legal status electronic money actually have. The report was submitted to Government on January 1998 (SOU 1998:14).

• A special investigator has been appointed by the Government (Dir. 1996:92) to analyse eventual changes to the law that stipulate that documents, i.e. books, news papers, printed matters and records, are obliged to be submitted to specific libraries and archives for keeping and for the accessibility to research (Pliktexemplarslagen). Today electronic documents in fixed form such as CD-ROM records and disks are embraced by the law, however, documents stored in digital networks are not. The special investigator is to see if these electronic documents may be included in the law and hence obliged to be submitted. The report was submitted to the Government in August 1998 (1998:111). The Government has appointed a committee which is supposed to propose changes to the law before September 1, 2000.

• The Government want to protect the spreading of racist information on the Internet. A Green Paper will be submitted.
  

10. Database access

A special investigator has been appointed by Government (Dir. 1996:43) to analyse how central databases may be done more accessible and how these databases may achieve a higher level of service and quality. As a lead in this aim, the special investigator is to suggest eventual constitutional changes. The report has been submitted to the government. SOU 1997:146 (Grunddata i Samhällets tjänst). The work is in progress within the government.

11. Mass media

A board, Rådet för mångfald inom massmedierna (KU 1995:01), has been appointed by Government, (Dir. 1995:13). The board is to suggest measures as well as juridical changes to strengthen the amplitude and the variation in mass-media as well as preventing concentration of owning and control within the media industry. The consequences by the development in information technology is to be taken in consideration. A new committee was called on 13 November 1997. A final date for submission of a report to the Government has been settled to the 1^st December 1998. However the report has not been published yet.

12. Intelligent (mobile) agents

The IT-Observatory is preparing a report to the IT-Commission regarding which laws has to be adjusted or amended when these kind of programs becomes more common. The report is under construction.

13. Distance work

The Swedish Government has appointed an investigation (Distansutredningen dir. 1997:83) that will look into actions to set aside obstacles for online-working. The survey, is going to map out problems and effects, related to online-working e.g. examine how online-working effect the working hour's legislation, labour legislation and tax issues. The investigation is also going to come up with suggestions to actions and change of laws that are needed. The investigation reported on the 12 September 1998. However, the government has decided to wait, following the recommendations of the investigation.

14. Electronic Commerce

The Swedish Government has initiated the appointment of a work group initiated to look into the Electronic Commerce area. The largest problem is the tax-legislation.

A document, which is supposed to result in a report from the government to the Parliament, is planned to be submitted during the spring 1999. The work to reach international agreements is going on.

15. Association law

The law will be revised. The work started in the IT observatory in February 1998. The most important issue is to define new concepts like imaginary organisation, knowledge company and disintegrated companies, to find out which legal forms of associations may be used for these new concepts and how/if the legal rules may be used.

16. Spamming

Two hearings have been held: the 18 of March 1997 about marketing and the 2 of March about the freedom of speech. A report is being prepared in the IT observatory.

17. Telecommunications law applicable on Internet

The Post and Telestyrelsen is investigating weather the Telecommunications law is applicable on the Internet.