Secret data reading means that law enforcement agencies may secretly install software or hardware in a computer, mobile or tablet to, for example, read messages and eavesdrop on calls in encrypted apps.
The law entered into force on 1 April 2020 and is limited in time to the last of March 2025. An investigator must analyze the usefulness and need for secret data reading and look at whether the law should be permanent and if so, if it needs to be changed in any way.
Last year, secret data reading was used in 145 cases, according to the Public Prosecutor’s Office’s annual report on secret coercive measures.
“The law enforcement authorities’ experience of secret data reading has so far been very good,” said Minister of Justice and Home Affairs Morgan Johansson in a press release.
The assignment must be reported no later than 1 December 2023. It is unclear who will be appointed investigator.