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– That was what we appreciated at the time. Several years have passed since then. Clearly this can change over time, I don’t think it’s really that strange, says Attorney General Petra Lundh.
When law enforcement agencies given the opportunity to install eavesdropping software, for example mobile phones, both the government and a government investigation judged that the method would be used to a limited extent.
The technology was resource-intensive and was also considered to pose personal privacy risks, as it could involve a comprehensive survey of someone’s privacy.
As a state investigator Petra Lundh estimated that the so-called secret data read would be used about 50 times a year. In just under a year, Swedish courts have processed applications for almost 500 cases.
It is not yet clear how many of the applications have been approved, but the Safety and Integrity Protection Board notes that the method is used to a much greater extent than intended by the legislator.
Prosecutor Petra Lundh sees without major risks to privacy, as long as the law is complied with. It establishes, among other things, that reading may only be used in principle in certain suspicions of serious crimes and when it is of “special importance” for the investigation.
– So I do not see that the personal integrity of the individual is violated in any way, even if you use it to a greater extent than we appreciated from the beginning, says Petra Lundh.
So there is no limit to the amount of use of this enforcement measure?
– No, as long as it meets the requirements of the law, I can’t see it, she says.
This is something that the Secretary General of the Bar, Mia Edwall Insulander, believes should be carefully evaluated.
– This coercive measure is very intrusive, more intrusive in terms of invasion of privacy than other coercive measures, and would only be used when other coercive measures were not sufficient. When it now turns out that there are many more applications than the legislator anticipated, it can be considered whether it is used not second but first, says Mia Edwall Insulander.
As Ekot reported The Safety and Integrity Protection Board, which is going to oversee this type of monitoring, also says more resources are needed so that supervisory work is not affected.
Prosecutor Petra Lundh believes that this is an issue on which the government must take a position.
– I can only say that, of course, it is important that they can fulfill their tasks, he says.
Ekot has submitted an application to the government.
