Use of biometric registers for real-time camera surveillance with facial recognition

The party programme makes the protection of personal privacy a fundamental right and requires legal security with public oversight and independent scrutiny. A permit system for real-time biometric mass identification at airports and stations goes in the opposite direction. The election manifesto moreover explicitly rejects the line of meeting crime with repression instead of tackling the deeper causes, and points to the police's problem with excessive force against young people in poor areas.

• protection of personal privacydecisive»rätt till skydd av sin personliga integritet« (party programme ↗)“right to protection of their personal privacy”
• prevention before repression»Alltför ofta lyfts repression och hårdare tag upp som lösningar istället för att ta itu med problemen på allvar.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Too often repression and harder approaches are lifted up as solutions instead of tackling problems seriously.”
• legal security and insight»Rättssäkerheten behöver upprätthållas genom rättshjälp, medborgerlig« (party programme ↗)“Legal security needs to be upheld through legal aid, public”
• police work must change»Att återupprätta tilltron till polisen kräver stora förändringar av hur polisen arbetar.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Restoring confidence in the police requires major changes in how the police works.”

The election manifesto promises the police more tools and explicitly mentions better possibilities for wiretapping and house searches, while society's full force is to be mobilized against the criminals. A permit-regulated framework for biometric remote identification at airports and train stations is such a tool against terrorism and gang crime. The party programme's integrity commitment speaks in favour of the tool being conditioned through permit review, not against its implementation.

• more tools for the policedecisive»Polisen behöver också fler verktyg, som bättre möjligheter till avlyssning och husrannsakan.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The police also need more tools, such as better possibilities for wiretapping and house searches.”
• uncompromising crime prevention»Samhällets fulla kraft ska mobiliseras för att trycka tillbaka de kriminella, kapa återväxten in i kriminaliteten och öka tryggheten.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Society's full force must be mobilized to push back the criminals, cut off the return into crime and increase safety.”
• strengthened border control»Vi vill ta krafttag mot införsel av vapen och narkotika, bland annat genom stärkt gränskontroll.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to take forceful action against smuggling of weapons and narcotics, including through strengthened border control.”
• protection of personal integrity»Det är samhällets absoluta skyldighet att skydda friheten och den personliga integriteten« (party programme ↗)“It is society's absolute duty to protect freedom and personal integrity”

The plan takes an explicit position against laws that involve disproportionate intrusions into integrity and establishes that crime and counterterrorism cannot be pursued at the expense of human rights. Biometric remote identification in real-time at airports and stations constitutes mass surveillance of everyone passing through, which is precisely such an intrusion. The plan therefore rejects the counter-proposal's requirement for an authorization framework for real-time facial recognition.

• no disproportionate intrusions into integritydecisive»Vi motsätter oss alla lagar som innebär oproportionerliga ingrepp i integriteten.« (party programme ↗)“We oppose all laws that involve disproportionate intrusions into integrity.”
• rights before surveillance»Brotts- och terrorbekämpning är viktigt men ska inte ske på bekostnad av mänskliga rättigheter.« (party programme ↗)“Crime and counterterrorism are important but shall not be pursued at the expense of human rights.”
• no improper surveillance»Ingen otillbörlig registrering eller övervakning baserad på politiska åsikter eller demokratisk verksamhet får förekomma.« (party programme ↗)“No improper registration or surveillance based on political opinions or democratic activity shall occur.”
• right to integrity»Vi vill värna människors rätt till integritet och privatliv.« (party programme ↗)“We want to protect people's right to integrity and privacy.”

The election manifesto explicitly says no to a range of intrusive methods, including preventive surveillance, with reference to the rule of law and the individual's rights in relation to the state. The party programme requires that all legislation be tested against impact on privacy and that the restriction is proportionate to the purpose. Regulations for biometric remote identification in real time in public places constitute general mass surveillance that conflicts with these commitments.

• no to mass surveillance coercive measuresdecisive»Vi säger därför nej till visitationszoner, kollektiv bestraffning, omvänd bevisbörda, anonyma vittnen, preventiv avlyssning och inskränkningar av religionsfriheten.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We therefore say no to stop-and-search zones, collective punishment, reversed burden of proof, anonymous witnesses, preventive surveillance and restrictions on freedom of religion.”
• integrity testing of legislationweak support»All lagstiftning bör prövas mot dess påverkan på människors personliga integritet.« (party programme ↗)“All legislation should be tested against its impact on people's personal integrity.”
• proportionality requirement»Det måste finnas en proportionalitet mellan lagstiftningens inskränkning av medborgarnas integritet och lagarnas syfte.« (party programme ↗)“There must be proportionality between legislation's restriction of citizens' integrity and the purpose of the laws.”
• integrity as democratic cornerstone»Respekten för den enskildes personliga integritet är en grundsten i varje demokrati.« (party programme ↗)“Respect for the individual's personal integrity is a cornerstone of every democracy.”

flags: citat_svagt

The election manifesto wants to give police more tools and allow covert measures against organized gang members even without concrete criminal suspicion, and the party programme wants to simplify camera surveillance in public places. The programme also opens the possibility for expanded collection and use of information to be tested politically and legally when new needs arise, which is precisely the permit system the counter-proposal seeks. The requirement for privacy review remains but does not speak against a regulated permit.

• more tools against gang crimedecisive»Avlyssning och andra hemliga tvångsmedel ska kunna användas både vid misstanke om fler brott än i dag och efter domstolsbeslut mot organiserade gängmedlemmar även utan konkret brottsmisstanke.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Wiretapping and other covert measures shall be able to be used both on suspicion of more crimes than today and after court order against organized gang members even without concrete criminal suspicion.”
• simplified camera surveillance»Möjligheten till kamerabevakning på offentlig plats ska förenklas.« (party programme ↗)“The possibility for camera surveillance in public places shall be simplified.”
• new needs tested politically»Om samhällsutvecklingen gör att nya behov uppstår måste det avgöras politiskt och i vissa fall rättsligt om dessa behov väger tillräckligt tungt för att vidga insamling och användning av uppgifterna.« (party programme ↗)“If social development creates new needs, it must be decided politically and in some cases legally whether these needs weigh sufficiently heavily for expanding collection and use of information.”
• strict privacy review»Åtgärder som påverkar den personliga integriteten negativt är endast berättigade om ett motstående intresse väger uppenbart tyngre och åtgärden är effektiv.« (party programme ↗)“Measures that negatively affect personal privacy are only justified if an opposing interest weighs clearly heavier and the measure is effective.”

flags: integritetsavvagning

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The election manifesto describes the situation as extreme and makes security a priority area, and the party programme requires that Sweden can meet attacks from international crime and terrorism. A regulatory framework with permit review for biometric remote identification at airports and stations is a tool against exactly terrorism and gang crime, and the permit requirement responds to the plan's requirement for clearly demarcated authority. The plan's strong privacy protection is a significant counterweight, which is why the confidence is low.

• meet terrorism and crimedecisive»möta angrepp från internationell kriminalitet, terrorism« (party programme ↗)“meet attacks from international crime, terrorism”
• extreme situation requires measures»Sverige befinner sig i en extrem situation.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden finds itself in an extreme situation.”
• clearly demarcated authority»dess befogenheter ska vara tydligt avgränsade« (party programme ↗)“its authority shall be clearly demarcated”
• strong privacy protection»Den personliga integriteten ska ha ett starkt« (party programme ↗)“Personal integrity shall have a strong”

Worldstate weighed in: Explosions in residential buildings with police urging heightened vigilance — strengthens the grounds for new tools against gang crime in public places; The school shooting in Örebro with eleven dead — strengthens arguments for protection of public spaces, but does not affect the plan's privacy boundary

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan commits to greatly increasing the number of surveillance cameras and giving police new powers, for example visitor zones, and establishes that legislation should be adapted to gangs being domestic terrorists. A licensing regulation for biometric remote identification in real time at airports and stations against terrorism and gang crime is in line with these commitments. That the proposal is based on licensing review also responds to the plan's demand for protected personal privacy.

• more surveillance camerasdecisive»Kraftigt öka antalet övervakningskameror« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Greatly increase the number of surveillance cameras”
• gangs as domestic terrorists»Gängen är Sveriges inhemska terrorister« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Gangs are Sweden's domestic terrorists”
• expanded police powers»Införa visitationszoner så att Polisen får bättre möjligheter att leta efter vapen« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Introduce visitor zones so that the Police have better opportunities to search for weapons”
• protected personal privacy»Den personliga integriteten ska värnas« (party programme ↗)“Personal privacy shall be protected”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The election manifesto explicitly requires that gang members can be better mapped through intelligence work, surveillance, camera surveillance and wiretapping, and that procedural obstacles to increased prosecution are removed. A permit-reviewed framework for biometric remote identification in real time at airports and stations is precisely such a tool against terrorism and gang crime. The plan also gives the justice system resources and authority to carry out its tasks, which supports the counter-proposal's demand.

• camera surveillance against gangsdecisive»Åtgärder ska vidtas för att bättre kunna kartlägga gängaktiva genom t.ex. underrättelsearbete och informationsinhämtning, spaning, kameraövervakning och avlyssning.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Measures shall be taken to better map gang members through e.g. intelligence work and information gathering, surveillance, camera surveillance and wiretapping.”
• remove procedural obstacles»Processuella hinder för att möjliggöra en ökad lagföring måste också undanröjas.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Procedural obstacles to enabling increased prosecution must also be removed.”
• tools against gangs»Ge rättsväsendet resurser och verktyg för att bekämpa gängen« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Give the justice system resources and tools to combat gangs”
• authority for the justice system»resurser och befogenheter för att kunna lösa sina uppgifter och skydda medborgarna.« (party programme ↗)“resources and authority to carry out their tasks and protect citizens.”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.