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Cecilia Renfors (former Director of the Swedish Broadcasting Commission) was appointed to head a commission to examine certain issues regarding copyright on the Internet, and on 3 September 2007 her investigation was published. The Commissioner has come to the conclusion that the existing online services for obtaining music and film do not meet users’ demand for consumer friendly legal alternatives. Current online services, for example, often offer an insufficient range, are statically modelled and use partial (non-consumer friendly) contractual terms and technical protection (DRM protection)....

On 12 June 2007, Hovrätten för västra Sverige (Court of Appeals for Western Sweden) upheld the country’s first verdict in a case concerning the sharing of music files over the Internet (see IRIS 2006-10: 19). This is a verdict that has been claimed as a success both by the music industry, and by representatives of political groups who want Sweden to re-legalise file-sharing. Jimmy Sjöström, a 45 year-old living in Borås, was convicted and fined SEK 20,000 by Borås tingsrätt (Borås District Court) on 16 October 2006 for sharing four music files over the Internet. Both the prosecution and Mr Sjöström...

During 2006, TV4, a Swedish commercial television channel, had on three separate occasions been ordered by judgment to pay special fines for commercial advertising breaks in ongoing television broadcasting contrary to the radio-och TV lagen (1996:844), the Swedish Act on Radio and TV. According to the Swedish Act on Radio and TV, commercial advertising breaks in ongoing television broadcasting are only allowed in a specifically stated manner. The Act on Radio and TV prescribes that breaks may only be introduced in a television programme where they do not infringe the integrity and value of the...

The chief editor of the evening newspaper Expressen has been convicted of defamation and ordered to pay SEK 75,000 (ca. EUR 8,200) for violations of Tryckfrihetsförordningen (the Freedom of the Press Act). Expressen had published on its placard the news that a famous actor (M.P.) had suffered acute alcohol poisoning and been admitted to a clinic. The same information was found on the front page of the newspaper. The newspaper and its Internet version featured an article with pictures of the clinic, which was said to be M.P.’ s “new home”. The information was later disproved. Five days later, Expressen...

From 1 January 2007 Personuppgiftslagen 1998:204 (the Personal Data Act) will be amended. The purpose of the amendments is to focus on and regulate misuse, instead of, as is currently the case, all use of personal data. To this end certain categories of personal data have been excluded from the rules which otherwise apply and instead processing of such categories will be subject to a misuse rule. This provision has been introduced in a new Article 5a. Furthermore, negligent offences have been decriminalised. In order to achieve a regulation that is more adapted to the every-day use of personal...