Censorship in Sweden
The most important founding father of this part of the Swedish constitution was Anders Chydenius, a Finn, who was a member of parliament in the ecclesiastical estate.
The constitutional prohibition against all forms of censorship before publication of books and other printed matters has since 1810 the strict formulation that is still a cornerstone of Sweden's freedom of the press.
The injunctions that in many countries are sought by lawyers or officials, and given by the courts, to stop the publication or broadcasting of certain statements, facts or pictures are not possible in Sweden.
During the rule of king Charles XIV John the government had for a number of years power to administratively prohibit the further publication of newspapers.
This is done by special procedural rules for trials in all cases involving the press, by trial by jury, by the requirement that no judgement of indemnity can be given unless a two-thirds majority of the jury has found the publication criminal – as well as through other rules that make it impossible for the state or for private interests to take legal action against those involved in a book or newspaper's production.
Since 1992, the same level of protection is given to electronic media in a parallel Constitutional Law, although there are exceptions that allow regulation of radio and TV as well as censorship of films shown at cinemas.
Minister of Justice Karl Gustaf Westman revived an old law, long considered obsolete, that made it illegal to publish "offensive writings" about a foreign state.
Another prominent anti-fascist Israel Holmgren was sentenced to jail by a Swedish court in 1942 for his book Nazisthelvetet (The Nazi Hell).
[6] Statens biografbyrå oversaw censorship laws that stated that films "shall not include any material that is offensive to public decency or disrespectful to the authorities or private individuals, nor pictures depicting the commission of murders, robberies or other serious crimes, and exhibitions that are open to children shall not include pictures depicting events or situations that are liable to arouse emotions of terror or horror in the audience or for other reasons be considered unsuitable for children to look at.
The designation of "protected object" can be applied to facilities, geographical areas, ships and aircraft, when in the interest of national security.
[11][12] These regulations are enforced in respect to posts within social media; in 2017 a 70-year-old woman was prosecuted for expressing a 'disparaging view of refugees' on Facebook where she commented on public order disturbances allegedly committed by the migrants.
[13] The law does not prohibit a pertinent and responsible debate (en saklig och vederhäftig diskussion), nor statements made in a completely private sphere.
[15] The sexual orientation provision, added in 2002,[16] was used to convict Pentecostalist pastor Åke Green of hate speech against homosexuality based on a 2003 sermon.
[19] In 2016, the Swedish Police were accused of covering up rape and assault statistics by immigrants[20] shortly thereafter declaring that they wouldn't include ethnic traits anymore when describing alleged criminals.
In 2011–2012, following a large influx of Islamic immigrants coming to Sweden, neo-nazi[25] Ingrid Carlqvist criticized the government's open approach and described the refugees as "dangerous"; many colleagues and politicians accused her of racism and hate speech, and as an answer she founded the Swedish branch of the Danish Free Press Society to fight self-censorship of Swedes.
In December, the tabloid Aftonbladet launched a campaign against nationalist blogs in order to test the limits of the hate speech law.
A 2020 study by Lund University discusses the impact of fear of hate and threats on journalists' work and the resulting self-censorship.
The findings emphasized the need to protect press freedom and create safe working environments where journalists can operate without fear of threats and harassment.
