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UME. In an attempt to prevent gang criminals from mapping private individuals, the government now wants to stop certain search services from disseminating personal data.
But the government’s move takes time to get through because it requires an amendment to the constitution.
– If we are to be able to reverse this development, we must take measures that break old patterns, says Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer (M).
The moderates’ party meeting has just hammered out the last decision for day two of four.
The meeting room in Folkets Hus in Umeå is being emptied, but against the stream of moderates who are on their way out comes Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer.
– This is my home field, he says, referring to Norrland.
He himself is from the “neighboring village” Örnsköldsvik. In northern Sweden, there is a different view of distance.
Want to shut down sites that sell personal data
As part of the government’s attempt to combat gang crime, he now wants to review whether the Swedish constitution should be changed.
The government sees the problems with certain commercial sites making personal data about private individuals available.
With just a couple of clicks, you can find out where a person lives, how much he or she earns, what car the person drives and also obtain social security numbers that can be used for various types of fraud.
The sites’ business model, to sell the information – which is otherwise public with authorities, leads to gang criminals mapping private individuals in a way that facilitates financial crime.
– Today, when we are in a situation where a serious organized crime on a large scale uses personal data like this to systematically deceive elderly people or compile information as a basis for a very serious crime, then I think it is obvious that we must look at the issue and make a serious assessment, says Gunnar Strömmer.
Requires constitutional amendment
The sites are protected, like the media, by freedom of expression. In order to bring about a new order, a constitutional amendment is therefore required. Therefore, an investigator must look at the issue and come up with proposals by November next year at the latest.
In addition, a parliamentary group in the Riksdag, in which all parties must be included, must be put together.
– It is so that we can sort out as early as possible whether we have broad political support to make a change like this.
Amendments to the constitution require two identical decisions with a parliamentary election between the decisions. Shutting down the possibility for the sites to spread personal data is therefore not done in the blink of an eye.
– If we are to be able to reverse this development, we must take measures that break old patterns and we must take paths that we have not previously taken.