Swedish Internet surveillance law stalled

(Computer Sweden) -- The Swedish Social Democratic Party said Monday that it will block a bill authorizing extensive surveillance of e-mail and other Internet communications.

Although the announcement was welcomed by privacy advocates, it delays but does not permanently block the bill. The Social Democrats, being a minority in Parliament, can only postpone the vote on the FRA bill for one year. They're supported by the Green Party and the Left Party.

Commentators also question the sincerity of the Social Democratic spokesman on legal matters, Thomas Bodström, who announced the block. As minister of justice until last year's elections, which brought a non-Social Democrat cabinet into power, Mr. Bodström himself introduced a number of laws authorizing snooping on private communications. The bill that he has now advised his fellow Social Democrats to block was initiated, although not completed, while he was still in charge.

The bill would give the National Defense Radio Establishment, known by its Swedish acronym FRA, the right to intercept all Internet communications crossing Sweden's borders.

Until recently, the FRA was a little-known government agency, listening in on military and diplomatic radio communications from all over the world. From the FRA's point of view, Internet surveillance is an obvious extension of the agency's traditional activities. The bad guys, the agency insists, whether they're terrorists, spies, politicians or common criminals, don't use radio much any more, they use the Internet.

But despite FRA officials' insistence that the FRA has no interest in reading the private e-mails of Swedish citizens, the bill created an uproar. Newspaper editorials across the political spectrum denounced the FRA bill as a threat to privacy.

Obviously, because of how the Internet is designed, a large percentage of even e-mails between Swedes will pass the border at some point. And if it crosses the border, FRA has the right to intercept it.

Although the main sponsor of the bill, defense minister Mikael Odenberg of the Moderate party, will be able to depend on most, if not all, members of parliament from the governing four-party coalition to loyally vote for it, there is much unease among legislators.

"There is an obvious danger for misuse of signals intelligence," said Allan Widman of the Liberal party, which is part of the government coalition. "This is not only a matter of adapting to new technology," he added. "E-mails are the letters of our times. So it's a widening of the scope."

"The FRA will be authorized to collect intelligence on any vital political question. But can we actually solve environmental problems by intercepting e-mails?" Peter Eriksson of the Green Party, which is not part of the governing coalition, said. "Would we like to live in a state with unlimited rights to monitor and supervise everything we do? Can we trust the government? Experience teaches us not to."