Criticism of the FRA law
Encyclopedia
The FRA law
, a controversial anti-terrorist legislative package in Sweden
, has been heavily criticized both in Sweden and elsewhere.
voted against the proposition, their opposition was merely on technical grounds as they put forth the original proposition in 2007. All four parties in the ruling government coalition Alliance for Sweden
(the Moderate Party
, the Centre Party
, the Liberal People's Party
and the Christian Democrats
) voted in favor of the proposition. Only two parties in the Riksdag, the Left Party
and the Green Party
, outright rejected the proposition.
However, the youth organizations of all seven riksdag parties, including those of the ruling coalition parties, have spoken out against the proposal. Their responses are below. There have been more or less organized resistance internally in all of the four parties voting for the law, both informal and organized through organizations as CenterUppropet and Borgerligt Nej.
, is quoted as saying "We still wish the law had not passed, nothing else is okay from our perspective."
states that LUF demands that all Liberal People's Party MPs vote against the proposition, citing a party program stating that states that "liberals have, throughout history, always struggled against those who have wanted to restrict the sanctity of the individual", asking the rhetorical question, "do the current MPs want to rewrite history?". Johansson Metso declares that she is "sick of Orwellian
newspeak
" and goes on to say that by "safety for the individual" the government means "security for the state" and makes other similar comparisons. The press release also reveals the opening of a new campaign website, "your border", highlighting the privacy and personal freedom issues raised by the FRA law.
The next news release, from June 18, 2008, primarily focuses on criticizing the Centre Party MPs Fredrick Federley
and Annie Johansson
, stating that while their action might be perceived to be supportive of the opposition to the FRA law, in reality they only splintered the opposition and effectively made sure the proposition would pass. Another news release from the same day repeats that Federley and Johansson gave away the FRA law, and calls for Liberal People's Party MPs to vote against the proposition. As of June 24, 2008, the latest press release related to the FRA law was posted on June 19, 2008 - one day after the law has passed - praising the Liberal People's Party MP Camilla Lindberg
, the only MP from the Alliance for Sweden
to vote against the proposal, and announcing Lindberg's receiving of the Bertil Ohlin medal, the highest distinction awarded by the LUF. In the press release, Lindberg is compared to Zlatan Ibrahimović
, a Swedish footballer. Birgitta Ohlsson
, a Liberal People's Party MP who abstained from voting (but not voting against) is thanked, along with the three opposition parties: the Social Democrats, the Left Party, and the Green Party.
demanded that Moderate Party MPs voted in with the support of the youth league - Anna König Jerlmyr
, Tomas Tobé, Oskar Öholm, Fredrik Schulte, Patrik Forslund, Anna Bergkvist
, Lars Hjälmered
and Karl Sigfrid - vote against the proposition, calling it the "greatest violation of personal right to privacy in the history of Sweden". Chairman Niklas Wykman
was quoted as saying "claiming that one has to follow the party line is just an excuse to avoid personal responsibility", and that the proposition would create system where everyone would be under constant surveillance. Wykman further claimed that historically, all systems break and fault eventually, and asked if the MPs were willing to face the consequences when this system did.
On June 17, 2008, after the law was rereferred, the Moderate Youth League claimed that they were convinced that the "mass surveillance proposition" would fall. Wykman was quoted as saying he believed it would be seen as the bluff it was, and that as long as the FRA would be able to read e-mail without any form of suspicion of crime, the proposition should not be approved in any form. It is then stated that MUF has worked against the law ever since it was first brought forth in its original form by Thomas Bodström
of the previous Social Democrat administration, and that they will continue to do so. When the law finally passed with only minor modifications, the Moderate Youth League took part in the demonstrations outside the Riksdag building.
Niklas Wykman has on his blog stated that he cannot be a member of a party that supports the idea of wiretapping the communication of all Swedes, but that all hope is not lost. His post does however end on a rather somber note, stating that "by next spring, you may be dancing around a radio tower" (instead of dancing around a maypole
).
's Nineteen Eighty-Four
to make them "wake up". It was stated that the chairman of KDU, Charlie Weimers
, would personally go to the Riksdag to hand out the books. Weimers is cited as stating that "The proposition is not only a threat to privacy, but in the end also something that can put the principles of the free society at stake."
is part of the parliament opposition), arranged a manifestation against the proposition (dubbing it "Lex Orwell") together with the Centre Party Youth, Young Christian Democrats, Liberal Youth and the Social Democratic Youth League
. Maria Ferm, one of the two spokespersons of the Young Greens, held a speech at the rally.
On June 16, 2008, an opinion piece was published at SVT Opinion
, which called for four "heroes", right-wing MPs that would vote against the proposition in parliament. The opinion piece was signed by Maria Ferm, together with Niklas Wykman
(chairman of the Moderate Youth League
), Frida Johansson Metso
(chairperson of Liberal Youth), Magnus Andersson
(chairman of the Centre Party Youth), and Jytte Guteland (chairperson of the Social Democratic Youth League
). On the same day, Ferm compared the law to the American
USA PATRIOT Act
, repeated her hope that four right-wing MPs would vote no, and noted the power bloggers and the internet had exerted on the campaign against the proposition in her newsletter.
After the proposition was rereffered on June 18, 2008, the Young Greens published a news release comparing the effects of the proposed legislation to setting up a surveillance society similar to that of Burma or China
. Both Jakop Dalunde (one of the two spokespersons of the Young Greens) and Maria Ferm was quoted criticizing the Alliance for Sweden
for not listening to their own youth wings, all of which opposed the proposition. Ferm was also quoted as stating that "The Greens are now the only liberals left in Swedish politics."
The day after the proposition was finally passed, the Young Greens published another news release declaring that June 18, 2008 was a historic day for both Russia
and Sweden
: Russia passed group play in the UEFA European Football Championship
for the first time since the breakup of the Soviet Union
, something that Sweden usually is quite good at; and Sweden became world-leading in mass surveillance, something that Russia is usually better at. Ferm also expressed her astonishment over Swedish liberals voting in favor of the proposition, "giving Sweden surveillance mechanisms that would have made Stalin
envious". On the same day, yet another news release was published, calling for the Liberal Youth to change their party affiliation from the Liberal People's Party
to the Green Party
. "The latest vote in parliament shows the mile-wide distances between youth wing and mother party. LUF stands considerably closer to us Greens on issues of freedom and liberty", Jakop Dalunde (spokesperson of the Young Greens) was quoted as saying.
at a rally in Stockholm publicly revealed a secret tape-recording with a former manager of the FRA who said that this type of signals interception was not subject to existing Swedish law, hence the need for legislation.
's international telecommunication goes through Sweden. Green League
requests that the Finnish government expresses its deep concerns to the Swedish government that the FRA law unreasonably threatens the privacy
and information security
of Finnish citizens and companies. The party also stated that Finnish citizens and companies need to be warned about the risks involving telecommunication and Sweden. Jyrki Kasvi
stated that telecommunication that goes through Sweden should be encrypted, and raised the question whether Finland needs to set up new systems and completely bypass Sweden.
and ISP
Phonera has announced that it plans to develop and release a "wiretapping-proof" encryption
service before the end of 2008.
The FRA law mandates making cross-border phone calls and data traffic available for interception, but not revealing customers' traffic.
have expressed their worry about the law, as it will make it illegal for them to deliver international telephone conversations via the Swedish networks. Due to this, Swedish-Finnish TeliaSonera
has, as of June 5, 2008, moved their Sonera (Finnish) e-mail servers out of Sweden, as Finnish law requires communication to be confidential. They have also transferred Swedish customers from Finnish to Swedish servers, to prevent Sweden-to-Sweden e-mail from crossing the border.
Juha-Pekka Weckström, Senior Vice President of TeliaSonera Broadband Services Finland stated:
, co-founder of the Swedish BitTorrent tracker The Pirate Bay
, has announced that the site will work against wiretapping with both technical and political means.
, from the international internet organization Electronic Frontier Foundation
said on his blog:
FRA law
The FRA law is a Swedish legislative package that authorizes the state to warrantlessly wiretap all telephone and Internet traffic that crosses Sweden's borders...
, a controversial anti-terrorist legislative package in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, has been heavily criticized both in Sweden and elsewhere.
Political parties
Although the Swedish Social Democratic PartySwedish Social Democratic Party
The Swedish Social Democratic Workers' Party, , contesting elections as 'the Workers' Party – the Social Democrats' , or sometimes referred to just as 'the Social Democrats' and most commonly as Sossarna ; is the oldest and largest political party in Sweden. The party was founded in 1889...
voted against the proposition, their opposition was merely on technical grounds as they put forth the original proposition in 2007. All four parties in the ruling government coalition Alliance for Sweden
Alliance for Sweden
The Alliance , formerly Alliance for Sweden , is a political alliance in Sweden. It consists of the four centre-right parties in the Riksdag...
(the Moderate Party
Moderate Party
The Moderate Party is a centre-right, liberal conservative political party in Sweden. The party was founded in 1904 as the General Electoral League by a group of conservatives in the Swedish parliament...
, the Centre Party
Centre Party (Sweden)
The Centre Party is a centrist political party in Sweden. The party maintains close ties to rural Sweden and describes itself as "a green social liberal party". The ideology is sometimes called agrarian, but in a European context, the Centre Party can perhaps best be characterized as social...
, the Liberal People's Party
Liberal People's Party (Sweden)
The Liberal People's Party is a political party in Sweden. The party advocates social liberalism and is part of the governing centre-right coalition The Alliance, which achieved a majority in the general election of 17 September 2006...
and the Christian Democrats
Christian Democrats (Sweden)
The Christian Democrats ) is a political party in Sweden. The party was founded in 1964 but did not enter parliament until 1985 in an electoral cooperation with the Centre Party and on the Christian Democrats' own accord in 1991. The leader since April 3, 2004 is Göran Hägglund. He succeeded Alf...
) voted in favor of the proposition. Only two parties in the Riksdag, the Left Party
Left Party (Sweden)
The Left Party is a socialist and feminist political party in Sweden, from 1967 to 1990 known as the Left Party – The Communists .On welfare issues, the party opposes privatizations...
and the Green Party
Green Party (Sweden)
-External links:**...
, outright rejected the proposition.
However, the youth organizations of all seven riksdag parties, including those of the ruling coalition parties, have spoken out against the proposal. Their responses are below. There have been more or less organized resistance internally in all of the four parties voting for the law, both informal and organized through organizations as CenterUppropet and Borgerligt Nej.
Centre Party Youth
On June 13, 2008, the Centre Party Youth (CUF) published a news item on their website stating that "CUF wants more integrity, not less", and that they are sorry the law passed. Their chairman, Magnus AnderssonMagnus Andersson (politician)
Per Magnus Andersson, born on the 16th of October 1981 is a Swedish politician and previous chairman of the Centre Party Youth, .Andersson, born in Segersta outside of Bollnäs and now living in Solna outside of Stockholm since 2007, grew up with a single mother. His father is Egyptian and lives in...
, is quoted as saying "We still wish the law had not passed, nothing else is okay from our perspective."
Liberal Youth
The Liberal Youth of Sweden (LUF) posted several news releases about the FRA law, the earliest dating June 10, 2008 and titled "FRA is the threat". In it, chairperson Frida Johansson MetsoFrida Johansson Metso
Frida Maria Johansson Metso is a Swedish politician and was chairperson of the Liberal Youth of Sweden from 2006 to 2009. She currently lives in Uppsala, where she was studying psychology at Uppsala University until she took a sabbatical from her studies on being elected...
states that LUF demands that all Liberal People's Party MPs vote against the proposition, citing a party program stating that states that "liberals have, throughout history, always struggled against those who have wanted to restrict the sanctity of the individual", asking the rhetorical question, "do the current MPs want to rewrite history?". Johansson Metso declares that she is "sick of Orwellian
Orwellian
"Orwellian" describes the situation, idea, or societal condition that George Orwell identified as being destructive to the welfare of a free society...
newspeak
Newspeak
Newspeak is a fictional language in George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. In the novel, it refers to the deliberately impoverished language promoted by the state. Orwell included an essay about it in the form of an appendix in which the basic principles of the language are explained...
" and goes on to say that by "safety for the individual" the government means "security for the state" and makes other similar comparisons. The press release also reveals the opening of a new campaign website, "your border", highlighting the privacy and personal freedom issues raised by the FRA law.
The next news release, from June 18, 2008, primarily focuses on criticizing the Centre Party MPs Fredrick Federley
Fredrick Federley
Bengt Fredrick Federley is a Swedish Centre Party politician, member of the Parliament of Sweden since 2006.- Youth and education :...
and Annie Johansson
Annie Johansson
Annie Marie Therése Lööf is a Swedish law graduate and Centre Party politician. She has been a member of the Riksdag since 2006. On 31 August 2011 she was put forward as the next party chairman of the Centre Party, and on 23 September 2011 she was elected...
, stating that while their action might be perceived to be supportive of the opposition to the FRA law, in reality they only splintered the opposition and effectively made sure the proposition would pass. Another news release from the same day repeats that Federley and Johansson gave away the FRA law, and calls for Liberal People's Party MPs to vote against the proposition. As of June 24, 2008, the latest press release related to the FRA law was posted on June 19, 2008 - one day after the law has passed - praising the Liberal People's Party MP Camilla Lindberg
Camilla Lindberg
Camilla Lindberg was a Swedish Liberal People's Party politician .She was not re-elected in the 2010 election.She was a member of the Riksdag from the district of Dalarna County since 2006...
, the only MP from the Alliance for Sweden
Alliance for Sweden
The Alliance , formerly Alliance for Sweden , is a political alliance in Sweden. It consists of the four centre-right parties in the Riksdag...
to vote against the proposal, and announcing Lindberg's receiving of the Bertil Ohlin medal, the highest distinction awarded by the LUF. In the press release, Lindberg is compared to Zlatan Ibrahimović
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Zlatan Ibrahimović is a Swedish footballer who plays as a striker for Serie A club Milan and the Swedish national team for which he is captain....
, a Swedish footballer. Birgitta Ohlsson
Birgitta Ohlsson
Eva Birgitta Ohlsson is a Swedish politician, currently serving as Minister for European Union Affairs in the Swedish government. She is a war-mongering, anti-Cuban and USA-loyal member of the Liberal People's Party....
, a Liberal People's Party MP who abstained from voting (but not voting against) is thanked, along with the three opposition parties: the Social Democrats, the Left Party, and the Green Party.
Moderate Youth League
On June 12, 2008, the Moderate Youth LeagueModerate Youth League
The Moderate Youth League , officially known in English as the Swedish Young Conservatives, is the youth wing of the Swedish Moderate Party. It had 12 051 members in 2010...
demanded that Moderate Party MPs voted in with the support of the youth league - Anna König Jerlmyr
Anna König Jerlmyr
Anna König Jerlmyr, born in 1978, is a Swedish politician of the Moderate Party. She has been a member of the Riksdag since 2006.- External links :* at the Riksdag website...
, Tomas Tobé, Oskar Öholm, Fredrik Schulte, Patrik Forslund, Anna Bergkvist
Anna Bergkvist
Anna Tenje , born in 1977, is a Swedish politician of the Moderate Party. She has been a member of the Riksdag since 2006.- External links :* at the Riksdag website...
, Lars Hjälmered
Lars Hjälmered
Lars Hjälmered, born in 1977, is a Swedish politician of the Moderate Party. He has been a member of the Riksdag since 2006.- External links :*...
and Karl Sigfrid - vote against the proposition, calling it the "greatest violation of personal right to privacy in the history of Sweden". Chairman Niklas Wykman
Niklas Wykman
Niklas Åke Wykman is a Swedish politician and former chairman of the Moderate Youth League, the youth wing of the Swedish liberal-conservative Moderate Party....
was quoted as saying "claiming that one has to follow the party line is just an excuse to avoid personal responsibility", and that the proposition would create system where everyone would be under constant surveillance. Wykman further claimed that historically, all systems break and fault eventually, and asked if the MPs were willing to face the consequences when this system did.
On June 17, 2008, after the law was rereferred, the Moderate Youth League claimed that they were convinced that the "mass surveillance proposition" would fall. Wykman was quoted as saying he believed it would be seen as the bluff it was, and that as long as the FRA would be able to read e-mail without any form of suspicion of crime, the proposition should not be approved in any form. It is then stated that MUF has worked against the law ever since it was first brought forth in its original form by Thomas Bodström
Thomas Bodström
Thomas Lennart Bodström is a Swedish politician and member of the Swedish Social Democratic Party. He was the Swedish Minister for Justice in the two last succeeding governments of the Swedish Prime Minister Göran Persson, from 2000 to 2006. Since October 2006 until October 2010 he was the chairman...
of the previous Social Democrat administration, and that they will continue to do so. When the law finally passed with only minor modifications, the Moderate Youth League took part in the demonstrations outside the Riksdag building.
Niklas Wykman has on his blog stated that he cannot be a member of a party that supports the idea of wiretapping the communication of all Swedes, but that all hope is not lost. His post does however end on a rather somber note, stating that "by next spring, you may be dancing around a radio tower" (instead of dancing around a maypole
Maypole
A maypole is a tall wooden pole erected as a part of various European folk festivals, particularly on May Day, or Pentecost although in some countries it is instead erected at Midsummer...
).
Young Christian Democrats
On June 16, 2008, the Young Christian Democrats (KDU) posted a news release to their website, declaring that the so-called FRA law threatens personal privacy and individual freedom, and their intent to supply all Christian Democrat MPs with a copy of George OrwellGeorge Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist...
's Nineteen Eighty-Four
Nineteen Eighty-Four
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell is a dystopian novel about Oceania, a society ruled by the oligarchical dictatorship of the Party...
to make them "wake up". It was stated that the chairman of KDU, Charlie Weimers
Charlie Weimers
Charlie Andreas Weimers is a center-right Swedish politician. He was Chairman of the Swedish Young Christian Democrats 2008-2010. He was elected Vice President of the Youth of the European People's Party at the 6th YEPP Congress in Stockholm in May 2007.Weimers was born in Karlstad, and...
, would personally go to the Riksdag to hand out the books. Weimers is cited as stating that "The proposition is not only a threat to privacy, but in the end also something that can put the principles of the free society at stake."
Young Greens
On June 9, 2008, the Young Greens (whose mother party the Green PartyGreen Party (Sweden)
-External links:**...
is part of the parliament opposition), arranged a manifestation against the proposition (dubbing it "Lex Orwell") together with the Centre Party Youth, Young Christian Democrats, Liberal Youth and the Social Democratic Youth League
Swedish Social Democratic Youth League
The Swedish Social Democratic Youth League is a branch of the Swedish social democratic party Socialdemokraterna and the Swedish Trade Union Confederation...
. Maria Ferm, one of the two spokespersons of the Young Greens, held a speech at the rally.
On June 16, 2008, an opinion piece was published at SVT Opinion
Sveriges Television
Sveriges Television AB , Sweden's Television, is a national television broadcaster based in Sweden, funded by a compulsory fee to be paid by all television owners...
, which called for four "heroes", right-wing MPs that would vote against the proposition in parliament. The opinion piece was signed by Maria Ferm, together with Niklas Wykman
Niklas Wykman
Niklas Åke Wykman is a Swedish politician and former chairman of the Moderate Youth League, the youth wing of the Swedish liberal-conservative Moderate Party....
(chairman of the Moderate Youth League
Moderate Youth League
The Moderate Youth League , officially known in English as the Swedish Young Conservatives, is the youth wing of the Swedish Moderate Party. It had 12 051 members in 2010...
), Frida Johansson Metso
Frida Johansson Metso
Frida Maria Johansson Metso is a Swedish politician and was chairperson of the Liberal Youth of Sweden from 2006 to 2009. She currently lives in Uppsala, where she was studying psychology at Uppsala University until she took a sabbatical from her studies on being elected...
(chairperson of Liberal Youth), Magnus Andersson
Magnus Andersson (politician)
Per Magnus Andersson, born on the 16th of October 1981 is a Swedish politician and previous chairman of the Centre Party Youth, .Andersson, born in Segersta outside of Bollnäs and now living in Solna outside of Stockholm since 2007, grew up with a single mother. His father is Egyptian and lives in...
(chairman of the Centre Party Youth), and Jytte Guteland (chairperson of the Social Democratic Youth League
Swedish Social Democratic Youth League
The Swedish Social Democratic Youth League is a branch of the Swedish social democratic party Socialdemokraterna and the Swedish Trade Union Confederation...
). On the same day, Ferm compared the law to the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
USA PATRIOT Act
USA PATRIOT Act
The USA PATRIOT Act is an Act of the U.S. Congress that was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001...
, repeated her hope that four right-wing MPs would vote no, and noted the power bloggers and the internet had exerted on the campaign against the proposition in her newsletter.
After the proposition was rereffered on June 18, 2008, the Young Greens published a news release comparing the effects of the proposed legislation to setting up a surveillance society similar to that of Burma or China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. Both Jakop Dalunde (one of the two spokespersons of the Young Greens) and Maria Ferm was quoted criticizing the Alliance for Sweden
Alliance for Sweden
The Alliance , formerly Alliance for Sweden , is a political alliance in Sweden. It consists of the four centre-right parties in the Riksdag...
for not listening to their own youth wings, all of which opposed the proposition. Ferm was also quoted as stating that "The Greens are now the only liberals left in Swedish politics."
The day after the proposition was finally passed, the Young Greens published another news release declaring that June 18, 2008 was a historic day for both Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
: Russia passed group play in the UEFA European Football Championship
UEFA European Football Championship
The UEFA European Football Championship is the main football competition of the men's national football teams governed by UEFA . Held every four years since 1960, in the even-numbered year between World Cup tournaments, it was originally called the UEFA European Nations Cup, changing to the current...
for the first time since the breakup of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, something that Sweden usually is quite good at; and Sweden became world-leading in mass surveillance, something that Russia is usually better at. Ferm also expressed her astonishment over Swedish liberals voting in favor of the proposition, "giving Sweden surveillance mechanisms that would have made Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
envious". On the same day, yet another news release was published, calling for the Liberal Youth to change their party affiliation from the Liberal People's Party
Liberal People's Party (Sweden)
The Liberal People's Party is a political party in Sweden. The party advocates social liberalism and is part of the governing centre-right coalition The Alliance, which achieved a majority in the general election of 17 September 2006...
to the Green Party
Green Party (Sweden)
-External links:**...
. "The latest vote in parliament shows the mile-wide distances between youth wing and mother party. LUF stands considerably closer to us Greens on issues of freedom and liberty", Jakop Dalunde (spokesperson of the Young Greens) was quoted as saying.
Piratpartiet
The Pirate Party has protested against the law since it was first shown to the public. The party has by itself and together with other political youth organisations and non-political speakers spread the word about the proposition since when it was first introduced. It was only in the second quarter of 2008 that things started to gain momentum and the proposition got attention after the party leader Rickard FalkvingeRickard Falkvinge
Rickard ”Rick” Falkvinge , born Dick Augustsson on 21 January 1972 in Gothenburg, is a Swedish IT entrepreneur known as the founder and first party leader of the Swedish Pirate Party. He is currently a political evangelist with the party, spreading the ideas across the world...
at a rally in Stockholm publicly revealed a secret tape-recording with a former manager of the FRA who said that this type of signals interception was not subject to existing Swedish law, hence the need for legislation.
Green League (Finland)
The large majority of FinlandFinland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
's international telecommunication goes through Sweden. Green League
Green League
The Green League is a centrist green liberal political party in Finland. It has ten seats in the Finnish Parliament and two in the European Parliament. The current chairperson is Ville Niinistö....
requests that the Finnish government expresses its deep concerns to the Swedish government that the FRA law unreasonably threatens the privacy
Privacy
Privacy is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves and thereby reveal themselves selectively...
and information security
Information security
Information security means protecting information and information systems from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, perusal, inspection, recording or destruction....
of Finnish citizens and companies. The party also stated that Finnish citizens and companies need to be warned about the risks involving telecommunication and Sweden. Jyrki Kasvi
Jyrki Kasvi
Jyrki Jouko Juhani Kasvi is a Finnish politician. He has been a member of the Finnish Parliament, representing the Green League. In the Parliament he was most active in the Committee for the Future, which he represented in the European Parliamentary Technology Assessment network , related to...
stated that telecommunication that goes through Sweden should be encrypted, and raised the question whether Finland needs to set up new systems and completely bypass Sweden.
Phonera
The Swedish telephone companyTelephone company
A telephone company is a service provider of telecommunications services such as telephony and data communications access. Many were at one time nationalized or state-regulated monopolies...
and ISP
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
Phonera has announced that it plans to develop and release a "wiretapping-proof" encryption
Encryption
In cryptography, encryption is the process of transforming information using an algorithm to make it unreadable to anyone except those possessing special knowledge, usually referred to as a key. The result of the process is encrypted information...
service before the end of 2008.
The FRA law mandates making cross-border phone calls and data traffic available for interception, but not revealing customers' traffic.
TeliaSonera
Telephone companies in FinlandFinland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
have expressed their worry about the law, as it will make it illegal for them to deliver international telephone conversations via the Swedish networks. Due to this, Swedish-Finnish TeliaSonera
TeliaSonera
TeliaSonera AB is the dominant telephone company and mobile network operator in Sweden and Finland. The company has operations in other countries in Northern, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Spain, with a total of 150 million mobile customers...
has, as of June 5, 2008, moved their Sonera (Finnish) e-mail servers out of Sweden, as Finnish law requires communication to be confidential. They have also transferred Swedish customers from Finnish to Swedish servers, to prevent Sweden-to-Sweden e-mail from crossing the border.
Juha-Pekka Weckström, Senior Vice President of TeliaSonera Broadband Services Finland stated:
The Pirate Bay
Peter SundePeter Sunde
Peter Sunde Kolmisoppi is an IT expert with Norwegian and Finnish roots. He is best known for being a co-founder and the spokesperson of The Pirate Bay, a BitTorrent tracker site.-Personal life:...
, co-founder of the Swedish BitTorrent tracker The Pirate Bay
The Pirate Bay
The Pirate Bay is a Swedish website which hosts magnet links and .torrent files, which allow users to share electronic files, including multimedia, computer games and software via BitTorrent...
, has announced that the site will work against wiretapping with both technical and political means.
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Danny O'BrienDanny O'Brien
Danny O'Brien is an English technology journalist and civil liberties activist. He wrote weekly columns for the Sunday Times and the Irish Times; and before that for The Guardian, and acted as a consultant in helping The Guardian formulate its online strategy. He worked for the UK edition of...
, from the international internet organization Electronic Frontier Foundation
Electronic Frontier Foundation
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is an international non-profit digital rights advocacy and legal organization based in the United States...
said on his blog: