Jurisdiction-specific data protection, defamation law, and removal process information for Sweden. Last reviewed 2025.
Integritetsskyddsmyndigheten (IMY) â formerly Datainspektionen is the supervisory authority for data protection in Sweden. Individuals can file erasure and data-related complaints directly with this authority.
GDPR (EU 2016/679) and the Swedish Data Protection Act (Lag med kompletterande bestämmelser till EU:s dataskyddsförordning, SFS 2018:218)
Sweden's IMY enforces GDPR erasure rights. However, Sweden has a notable constitutional tension between privacy and press freedom â the Freedom of the Press Act (1766, the world's oldest press freedom law) and the Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression limit erasure rights for news content.
Swedish defamation law (förtal) is set out in Chapter 5 of the Swedish Penal Code (Brottsbalken). Defamation is criminal. The Press Ombudsman (Pressombudsmannen, PO) handles complaints about print and online journalism, applying the Swedish Code of Ethics for the Press.
Removal in Sweden must navigate the tension between GDPR and constitutional press freedom. For non-news content, GDPR erasure requests via the IMY are the most direct route. For news content, engaging the Press Ombudsman is often a prerequisite to escalation.
Common Swedish sources requiring removal include Aftonbladet, Expressen, Dagens Nyheter, Svenska Dagbladet, SVT.se, and regional publications across Sweden's 21 counties.
Sweden's Freedom of the Press Act â the oldest in the world, dating to 1766 â gives publishers constitutional protection against forced content removal. Requesting de-indexing from Google is therefore often the most practical solution for news-related privacy issues in Sweden.