Parliament to vote on a law that violates private person's integrity

In two days time, the Swedish parliament is set to vote on the passing of a new law designed to give free reign to the state information system, to listen to and intercept all forms of communication via the Internet and telephone. The motivation behind this draconian measure that will trespass on the citizen's right to integrity is a presumed threat of external terrorism.

Dagens Nyheter's columnist Niklas Ekdal writes: " One does not need to have paranoia or sharp imagination to see how the state information can be abused. Sources, confidential letters and other matters of course disappear simply by pressing 'Delete'."

Listening devices have played an important role in the last two World Wars as well as during the Cold War. The art of intercepting enemy communication, at sea or land and reacting in time to subvert an attack was due to inventions in the field of information. But times have changed with the discovery of highly sophisticated information technology. World politics is changed and may require an even more advanced system of security surveillance. But not at the expense of the people's right to privacy and integrity.

Enacting a law that allows the state to intrude into the private realm of the citizen's life sends a jolting reality in a democratic society where person's integrity is sanctified in law. That this is happening in Sweden is unimaginable and speaks of ignorance on the part of parliamentarians with bad security advisers. This is heading for totalitarianism through information control, which is what happens in China and other dictatorships around the world. What a terrible setback in a democratic society!