Swedes To Be Wiretapped, Despite Protests
Written by Ernesto on June 19, 2008Despite public protests both online and on the streets of Stockholm, the Swedish parliament has voted in favor of a new “wiretapping” law which invades the privacy of its citizens by allowing the government to monitor web traffic and phone calls, without the need for court orders or similar authorization.
On Wednesday evening the Swedish parliament voted yes to a bill that allows FRA, National Defense Radio Agency, to monitor all phone traffic and e-mail traffic in the name of national security. Unlike the police, FRA can listen in on anyone for any purpose without a court order, bringing the level of personal integrity in Sweden to an all-time-low.
The bill was passed after it was debated in parliament, with 143 votes in favor, 138 opposed and 1 representative abstaining. Before the debate the situation was crystal clear. The four party government alliance would win the vote if all party members voted in favor of the bill, but with the seven seat majority the government currently holds, only four representatives had to vote against the party line in order for the bill to fail.
With all the editorials and statements regarding integrity, copyright and online-rights published during the last months by members of these parties, surely there would be four members of the parties that would follow their convictions rather than the party line? In fact, there were four representatives who have been crystal clear in these kinds of issues: Birgitta Ohlsson (Liberal Party), Karl Sigfrid (Moderate Party), Annie Johansson and Fredrick Federley (both Centre Party). They have profiled themselves on these issues and in some cases even campaigned on them. Surely, Fredrick Federley couldn’t let down his everyone of his voters?
Things proved more complex.
Leading up to Tuesday’s debate, the bill had been heavily criticized by journalists, pirates, lawyers, bloggers, all political parties’ youth organizations - as well as the head of the Swedish intelligence agency Säpo. Rick Falkvinge of The Pirate Party was one of the voices that spoke most strongly against the bill. Also, all of the four daily newspapers’ senior political editors were heavily opposed. Rumours had begun circulating that Karl Sigfrid was indeed going to vote against the bill while Fredrick Federley wrote an ambivalent blog post that indicated where this was heading.
The debate was intense with defense minister Sten Tolgfors of the Moderate Party showing his arrogance, ignorance and lack of understanding time and again (if the bill was not passed, he said, parliament would be risking the lives of Swedish UN troops in Afghanistan).
Towards the end of the debate, Fredrick Federley was on the speakers list. He pulled off a tear-filled act (including sentimentalities about his mother) in which he said he had to follow his conviction but at the same time didn’t want to let his party down. He motioned for the bill to be sent back to parliament’s defense committee for expanding the safeguards of individual rights. This was a carefully orchestrated piece of political theater designed to keep the government alliance together while at the same time allow the Centre Party (which until yesterday held high integrity and online rights) not to lose face. At this time, Federley knew that the bill was being reworked on an initiative from the Liberal Party to a new version that had a new authority controlling the controllers.
The original vote was due to be held on Wednesday morning and following an initiative from The Pirate Party, a crowd of hundreds was gathered in front of parliament to protest the bill and try to convince representatives to vote against it. The crowd was a mixture of pirates, the journalists’ union, the political parties’ youth organizations and worried citizens. Following the debate on Tuesday, the morning vote only considered if the bill should be sent back for revision and the vote was in favor.
In a farce of democracy, it was announced that the bill was to be revised in record time and a new vote be taken later in the evening. “I think the law needs to be re-written. It is not enough to create a few checks and balances … It is the law itself there is something wrong with,” Anders Eriksson, former Chief of Swedish intelligence agency Säpo, told Swedish radio before the vote.
By now, Fredrick Federley and Annie Johansson of the Centre Party had put themselves in a position where they could show to their voters that they had “improved” the bill while at the same time they could vote for the revised version to the happiness and joy of their party colleagues. So, what about the other possible nay-sayers?
According to the buzz on the blogs, Karl Sigfrid of the Moderate Party had decided to vote against the bill and was taken into a party meeting where 30 representatives from the Moderate Party along with party leader and Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt were on a speech list, bashing him one after the other until he couldn’t take it anymore.
And the remaining? Birgitta Ohlsson of the Liberal Party was as lame as her Centre Party counterparts: She abstained her vote, according to an interview in Dagens Nyheter “with respect to my liberal consciousness and to my voters but also to my party colleagues”.
When the FRA bill version 1.01 was brought back into the chamber on Wednesday evening, the outcome could only go one way. The Government parties along with PM Fredrik Reinfeldt had decided that this bill should go through and with the internal critics effectively silenced the bill was voted through, plunging Sweden into DDR era lack of privacy. How the bill is compatible with Human Rights (The right to respect privacy, family, home and correspondence) will be decided later in the court of the European Union where a number of opposition representatives will bring it to be tried.
The only liberal voting according to her ideology rather than her party line was Camilla Lindberg of the Liberal Party. In an editorial in today’s Expressen she explains why: “My loyalty is with my voters. And with myself and my conviction. I couldn’t get myself to vote in favour of the bill, regardless of the arguments from my colleagues and the last-minutes improvements. [...] If the surveillance poses a threat for integrity and freedom without having a proved positive effect, I can’t support such a bill.”
Welcome to 1984….
Previously: 3-Strikes Law to Disconnect French Pirates
Next: Reports: Demonoid Blocking Countries
115 Responses
Pages: [1] 2 3 4 5 » Show All
holy fuckin shit!
its time to ddos/blow shit up!
for fuck sake.
what next, a webcam to watch what l do on the toilet! who the fuck are these government ppl making laws like this. fuck off and leave citizens of YOUR country alone, for fucks sake.
This law has had huge media attention in sweden the last week, and the polls show an average of 90% of sweden being against this law.
More remarkably though is that many of the parliament members voted AGAINST their moral beliefs just to not get in trouble with their respective party.
This is simply not good enough, sweden won’t accept this at any cost!
What sucks even more is that they can also read pretty much every email in Finland too. Also listen to international phone calls from Finland.
I’m going to put my plane tickets on hold. I was going to move there, but I’ll wait till this all gets sorted out. Come on, I thought Sweden was the most democratic nation in the world, how will the people stand up to an unpopular government law?
They did not listen, democracy is officially dead in Sweden. EU please, save us!
Next time I’m voting for the pirate party, the major parties are corrupted. Where did we go so wrong??
LOL Just shows your just pissing the normall people off when you do stupid protests and everyone who says democracy is dead consider this. There are more people living in Sweden than the protesters.
@5/darkkosmos: “This law has had huge media attention in sweden the last week, and the polls show an average of 90% of sweden being against this law.”
Aside from that, you’re evidently retarded. How does this show anything about the protesters? Democracy is dead if due democratic process fails to bring about the result that best represents the best interests of the country and it’s people, which this evidently does not. Discuss.
Guess which country has 80% of it’s Internet-traffic routed through Sweden, on it’s way out to the rest of World?
Answer: Russia
Guess which country last spring signed an agreement with the US to exchange “intelligence”?
Answer: Sweden
Guess which contry, who previously never has had any threat of terrorism, and for a long time has been good friends with Russia?
Answer: Sweden
Guess how Russia, and extremists in this region, will feel about beeing spied upon for the US, by their previuos good friends Sweden?
Answer: No to good
Guess which contry who in recent years has strongly cut back on it’s military forces, since it hasn’t had a real threat in many years, thanks to it’s previous world famous well renowned foreign politics?
Answer: Sweden
Guess which country who previously has stayed well clear of participating in military campagins led by the US?
Answer: Sweden
Guess which country who’s is in deep dept, and who’s economy is founded upon Intellectual property-, oil- and weapon industries?
Answer: The US
Guess which country has a rich supply of natural resources such as oil?
Answer: Russia
Guess which countrys politics is the largest threat to the worlds intellectual property laws?
Answer: Sweden
Guess which way is the best to strike down on Swedens IP-laws, to get control over Russias natural resources, and increase the demand for weapons?
Answer: Trick Sweden in disarm their military so they are completely dependent on their new military allies. Trick Sweden to spy on Russia and becoming the target of Russian extremists and threat of terror.
When Sweden suffers it’s first terrorist attack, move in swiftly and strike down on Russia in the name of Sweden(who’s IP-laws naturally has to bee changed according to US-law, to not upset their new “good friends”), and seize control of Russia and it’s natural resources.
Guess which contry the US is in dept to the deepest, and also just happens to be good military friends with Russia(Shanghai Cooperation Organisation)?
Answer: China
Guess if Sweden is being used as a pawn in a US plan to start worldwar 3 with Russia and China, so it can wipe out it’s dept, strengthen it’s IP-law, oil-resources, and weapon industry?
Answer: …
Guess how easily stupid Swedish politicians can be tricked in to committing high treason?
Answer: Real easy, it seems..
darkkosmos: So everyone that does not actively work against a law is positive to it? You certainly aren’t very bright.
Let me give you a slight insight into this as I am writing this from Stockholm and I am a Swedish citizen, we are sickened to our very stomachs by this, we wrote on ezee.se before and after the new law was accepted because we knew although these act like lambs these politicans are nothing but corrupt c#cksuckers and knew exactly which direction they were heading. A democracy is supposed to be for the people but these children of lowlifes signed away the country’s beliefs in seconds… totally ignoring the 90% will of the people.
We feel sick, repulsed, depressed and ashamed to have such a government.
I am very proud of my Country and I would like to remind all of you out there, just like the American govt. does not totally represent their people, note that these bunch of assholes dont represent a HUGE percentage of us.
this bunch came out of the same mold that Sarkozy came from, they are a disgrace to the Swedish people and democracy and to the world in general.
http://www.eZee.se
I can safely say that this will bring about a new awakening of the swedish people.
Just this week I’ve gotten multiple emails and calls from people who all ask me how they can avoid being wiretapped by their own government..
Everybody suddenly wants to know more about encrypted tunnels.. and yes, this will mean that most swedish people will indeed start to encrypt their transmissions, rendering this law pointless in practice.
Gotta love our stupid politicians, trying to kill a whale with a peashooter.
We rarely have such a huge article here, but it’s completely right that way, sweden is important, like every other part of the world…
But especially in Sweden, this shouldn’t happen… “How is this compatible with Human Rights? We’ll solve that later…”
Only three words make up the perfect comment: WHAT THE FUCK!?
That can’t be happening, not in Sweden, not anywhere else… damn, why are polticians so ignorant… do they themselves even want to be monitored? (’Cause I doubt they would stay safe from it for long…)
Such assholes, even though everyone tried to hard to tell them the right way…
This is just all a little strange.
Steven - crenk.com
This is just crazy. So the government can now tap your phone line whenever and whereever they want, while at the same time they can monitor everything you do online. Well now unless they pass the law for piracy.. there are going to be a lot of arrests!
FUCK THE STATE.
Oh wait, I CAN’T EXPRESS MY OPINION ANYMORE.
Well, if the swedish government is against its citizens, even the point of allowing to a foreign country (US) to violate the law and the privacy of the swedish citizens (the privacy is a basic RIGHT in any democratic system) then, the swedish government doesn’t deserve any respect at all, by traitor; and the only way is the civil disobedience, and not obeying this law (by any way) at all, for being an injust law that violates basic rights, which was approved without
public consult.
And we still believe Democracy is alive and kicking eh….an overwhelming majority of Swedes are against this bill yet it gets passed, without call for a referendum surely?
Every right mind Swede should be out there now lobbying their local mp’s thoroughly so this issue is continually raised everyday in their “parliament”.
Disgusting
Right now there are huge protests and e-mail bombing against the government and hacker groups has revealed all of the contact information to the FRA members.
Sweden is fighting back!
Wow… the US are really getting their hands dirty in every country’s business… even the ones that don’t “threaten” them.
Out of curiosity, how many countries on this planet are left that promote the freedom to privacy?
Fredrika,
I couldn’t agree with you any more. With a large Muslim contingency in Russia I have been waiting for the U.S. to use it as an excuse. Of course they would be called Muslim fundamentalists or extremists, naturally. Especially since the Kremlin is not bowing to U.S. pressure when it comes to NATO enlargement. Russia it not so naive and can see what the bushes are planning.
Ironic enough ofc the names and information about ppl woking on the FRA has been leaked onto the internet by hackers…
Seems they don’t like when other people know private things about them… hmm.
At this point it would be advantageous to start riots and violence, show them what happens when you move against the people.. the people fight back.
Burn and Destroy.. or just bend over.
Anyone that want to help us swedes.
Can cc or bcc the following mail adresses to all the email they send.
It is the mail adresses to all the pepole that voted yes for this law.
All ready to just cut and paste.
jan.r.andersson@riksdagen.se
;Magdalena.w.andersson@riksdagen.se
;staffan.anger@riksdagen.se
;sofia.arkelsten@riksdagen.se
;lena.asplund@riksdagen.se
;anti.avsan@riksdagen.se
;gunnar.axen@riksdagen.se
;eva.bengtson.skogsberg@riksdagen.se
;finn.bengtsson@riksdagen.se
;ulf.berg@riksdagen.se
;sten.bergheden@riksdagen.se
;osama.alimaher@riksdagen.se
;anna.bergkvist@riksdagen.se
;per.bill@riksdagen.se
;ewa.bjorling@riksdagen.se
;gustav.blix@riksdagen.se
;helena.bouveng@riksdagen.se
;anne.marie.broden@riksdagen.se
;katarina.brannstrom@riksdagen.se
;mikael.cederbratt@riksdagen.se
;margareta.cederfelt@riksdagen.se
;lars.elinderson@riksdagen.se
;annicka.engblom@riksdagen.se
;hillevi.engstrom@riksdagen.se
;karin.enstrom@riksdagen.se
;jan.ericson@riksdagen.se
;patrik.forslund@riksdagen.se
;inge.garstedt@riksdagen.se
;mats.gerdau@riksdagen.se
;lisbeth.gronfeldt.bergman@riksdagen.se
;rolf.gunnarsson@riksdagen.se
;walburga.habsburg.douglas@riksdagen.se
;bjorn.hamilton@riksdagen.se
;ann-charlotte.hammar.johnsson@riksdagen.se
;krister.hammarbergh@riksdagen.se
;anders.hansson@riksdagen.se
;lennart.hedquist@riksdagen.se
;lars.hjalmered@riksdagen.se
;christian.holm@riksdagen.se
;isabella.jernbeck@riksdagen.se
;bengt-anders.johansson@riksdagen.se
;mats.johansson@riksdagen.se
;jeppe.johnsson@riksdagen.se
;christine.jonsson@riksdagen.se
;ulrika.karlsson@riksdagen.se
;reza.khelili@riksdagen.se
;marianne.kierkemann@riksdagen.se
;anna.kinberg.batra@riksdagen.se
;bertil.kjellberg@riksdagen.se
;margareta.b.kjellin@riksdagen.se
;anna.konig.jerlmyr@riksdagen.se
;olof.lavesson@riksdagen.se
;bjorn.leivik@riksdagen.se
;goran.lennmarker@riksdagen.se
;anna.lilliehook@riksdagen.se
;goran.lindblad@riksdagen.se
;lars.lindblad@riksdagen.se
;ulla.lofgren@riksdagen.se
;cecilia.magnusson@riksdagen.se
;betty.malmberg@riksdagen.se
;goran.montan@riksdagen.se
;mats.g.nilsson@riksdagen.se
;nils.oskar.nilsson@riksdagen.se
;rolf.k.nilsson@riksdagen.se
;sten.nordin@riksdagen.se
;andreas.norlen@riksdagen.se
;kent.olsson@riksdagen.se
;sven-yngve.persson@riksdagen.se
;goran.pettersson@riksdagen.se
;maria.plass@riksdagen.se
;ica.polfjard@riksdagen.se
;marietta.de.pourbaix-lundin@riksdagen.se
;anne-marie.palsson@riksdagen.se
;margareta.palsson@riksdagen.se
;inger.rene@riksdagen.se
;helena.riviere@riksdagen.se
;eliza.roszkowska.oberg@riksdagen.se
;hans.rothenberg@riksdagen.se
;jan-evert.radhstrom@riksdagen.se
;mats.sander@riksdagen.se
;fredrik.schulte@riksdagen.se
;karl.sigfrid@riksdagen.se
;ulf.sjosten@riksdagen.se
;lars-arne.staxang@riksdagen.se
;ola.sundell@riksdagen.se
;ewa.thalen.finne@riksdagen.se
;goran.thingwall@riksdagen.se
;tomas.tobe@riksdagen.se
;peder.wachtmeister@riksdagen.se
;hans.wallmark@riksdagen.se
;marianne.watz@riksdagen.se
;marie.weibull.kornias@riksdagen.se
;cecilia.widegren@riksdagen.se
;rune.wikstrom@riksdagen.se
;oskar.oholm@riksdagen.se
;peter.althin@riksdagen.se
;yvonne.andersson@riksdagen.se
;stefan.attefall@riksdagen.se
;inger.davidson@riksdagen.se
;kjell.eldensjo@riksdagen.se
;holger.gustafsson@riksdagen.se
;lars.gustafsson@riksdagen.se
;emma.henriksson@riksdagen.se
;desiree.pethrus.engstrom@riksdagen.se
;eva.johnsson@riksdagen.se
;dan.kihlstrom@riksdagen.se
;lars.linden@riksdagen.se
;else-marie.lindgren@riksdagen.se
;mikael.oscarsson@riksdagen.se
;irene.oskarsson@riksdagen.se
;sven.gunnar.persson@riksdagen.se
;chatrine.palsson.ahlgren@riksdagen.se
;rosita.runegrund@riksdagen.se
;lennart.sacredeus@riksdagen.se
;alf.svensson@riksdagen.se
;ingvar.svensson@riksdagen.se
;gunilla.tjernberg@riksdagen.se
;ingemar.vanerlov@riksdagen.se
;jan.andersson@riksdagen.se
;sven.bergstrom@riksdagen.se
;ulrika.carlsson@riksdagen.se
;staffan.danielsson@riksdagen.se
;lars-ivar.ericson@riksdagen.se
;erik.a.eriksson@riksdagen.se
;fredrick.federley@riksdagen.se
;kerstin.hermansson@riksdagen.se
;annie.johansson@riksdagen.se
;jorgen.johansson@riksdagen.se
;kenneth.johansson@riksdagen.se
;maria.kornevik.jakobsson@riksdagen.se
;sofia.larsen@riksdagen.se
;lennart.levi@riksdagen.se
;johan.linander@riksdagen.se
;per.lodenius@riksdagen.se
;kerstin.lundgren@riksdagen.se
;karin.nilsson@riksdagen.se
;lennart.pettersson@riksdagen.se
;annika.qarlsson@riksdagen.se
;ake.sandstrom@riksdagen.se
;eva.selin.lindgren@riksdagen.se
;birgitta.sellen@riksdagen.se
;solveig.ternstrom@riksdagen.se
;roger.tiefensee@riksdagen.se
;stefan.tornberg@riksdagen.se
;solveig.zander@riksdagen.se
;anders.akesson@riksdagen.se
;per.asling@riksdagen.se
;tina.acketoft@riksdagen.se
;gunnar.andren@riksdagen.se
;hans.backman@riksdagen.se
;agneta.berliner@riksdagen.se
;anita.broden@riksdagen.se
;jan.ertsborn@riksdagen.se
;eva.flyborg@riksdagen.se
;karin.granbom@riksdagen.se
;liselott.hagberg@riksdagen.se
;carl.b.hamilton@riksdagen.se
;solveig.hellquist@riksdagen.se
;tobias.krantz@riksdagen.se
;nina.larsson@riksdagen.se
;maria.lundqvist.bromster@riksdagen.se
;fredrik.malm@riksdagen.se
;ulf.nilsson@riksdagen.se
;christer.nylander@riksdagen.se
;johan.pehrson@riksdagen.se
;karin.pilsater@riksdagen.se
;mauricio.rojas@riksdagen.se
;lars.tysklind@riksdagen.se
;barbro.westerholm@riksdagen.se
;allan.widman@riksdagen.se
;cecilia.wigstrom@riksdagen.se
;christer.winback@riksdagen.se
;birgitta.ohlsson@riksdagen.se
Sweden, welcome to the new world order.
Pages: [1] 2 3 4 5 » Show All
Responses are closed
All remaining responses will continue to be archived. Use the TorrentFreak forums if you want to discuss something.