Telephone sales and other matters

The plan sees indebtedness and aggressive marketing as tools that weaken individuals' position, and wants regulation to be based on shared needs rather than capital's. A ban or an opt-in solution for telephone sales protects precisely the most vulnerable consumers. The question is, however, not addressed directly in the documents, so the conclusion is derived from the consumer protection principle.

• protect vulnerable consumersdecisive»Skuldsättning försvagar många människors självständighet och« (party programme ↗)“Indebtedness weakens many people's independence and”
• regulation based on shared needs»Regleringen av lånevillkor behöver utgå från« (party programme ↗)“Regulation of loan conditions needs to be based on”
• marketing as societal waste»Den leder dem till att slösa enorma resurser på konflikter« (party programme ↗)“It leads them to waste enormous resources on conflicts”

The plan does not address telephone sales, but it wishes to tighten protection for consumers and values personal integrity against intrusive marketing. A prohibition or an opt-in solution that requires prior consent follows from that protection line, especially for vulnerable groups. The conclusion rests on general principles rather than an expressed commitment.

• strengthened consumer protectiondecisive»plattform för att på europeisk nivå skärpa skyddet av miljö, konsumenter och löntagare« (party programme ↗)“platform to sharpen the protection of environment, consumers and workers at European level”
• personal integrity»Skydd för den personliga integriteten.« (party programme ↗)“Protection of personal integrity.”
• regulated market methods»Förhindrande av priskarteller och oskälig prissättning.« (party programme ↗)“Prevention of price cartels and unreasonable pricing.”

The plan does not directly address telephone sales, but states that the market is for people and that the state should set rules that protect households against an unregulated market's downsides. It also opposes a disposable consumer society driven by aggressive sales. A ban or an opt-in solution thus comes closest to the plan's principles, but the conclusion is derived.

• the market serves peopledecisive»Marknaden är till för människan – inte tvärtom.« (party programme ↗)“The market is for people – not the other way around.”
• regulation of markets»Staten ska säkerställa att det finns regelverk och institutioner som ser till att marknader« (party programme ↗)“The state should ensure that there are rules and institutions that ensure markets”
• against unsustainable consumption»Vårt köp- och slängsamhälle bränner ut både planeten och mångas ekonomi.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Our disposable consumer society burns out both the planet and many people's finances.”

The plan is based on free enterprise and a market economy free from centrally planned directives and wants to reduce regulatory burden rather than ban an entire sales channel. At the same time, the party programme demands strong integrity protection and proportionality in any restriction, which partly speaks for the counter-proposal. Overall, business freedom weighs more, and a ban or mandatory opt-in is rejected.

• proportionality in legislationdecisive»Det måste finnas en proportionalitet mellan lagstiftningens inskränkning av medborgarnas integritet och lagarnas syfte.« (party programme ↗)“There must be proportionality between the law's restriction of citizens' integrity and the laws' purpose.”
• fewer rules for business»Rensa upp i regelträsket för entreprenörer, stora som små.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Clean up the regulatory maze for entrepreneurs, large and small.”
• strong integrity protection»Ett starkt integritetsskydd är därför en omistlig del av ett öppet och demokratiskt samhälle.« (party programme ↗)“Strong integrity protection is therefore an indispensable part of an open and democratic society.”

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The plan is based on business freedom and the right to buy and sell, and wants to reduce regulatory burden rather than close an entire sales channel. The consumer's position shall be strengthened through improved consumer and contract legislation, not through a ban on telephone sales. The counter-proposal's main requirement for a ban therefore goes against the plan's line, even if the issue is not explicitly addressed.

• business and contract freedomdecisive»Äganderätten, rätten att köpa, sälja och ge bort egendom, rätten att starta företag och rätten att söka sig till ett visst yrke är nödvändiga för att den enskilda människan ska kunna forma sin tillvaro.« (party programme ↗)“Ownership rights, the right to buy, sell, and give away property, the right to start a business, and the right to seek a certain profession are necessary for the individual to be able to shape their existence.”
• consumer protection through contract law»Den enskildes inflytande över de avtal som ingås i vardagen behöver stärkas genom förbättrad konsument- och avtalslagstiftning.« (party programme ↗)“The individual's influence over contracts entered into in everyday life needs to be strengthened through improved consumer and contract legislation.”
• reduced regulatory burden»Regelbördan för små företag ska minska, genom ansträngningar på både kommunal, statlig och europeisk nivå, och offentliga beslut analyseras ur småföretagarperspektiv.« (party programme ↗)“The regulatory burden for small businesses shall decrease through efforts at municipal, state, and European level, and public decisions shall be analyzed from a small business perspective.”

The plan explicitly requires that misleading advertising and otherwise aggressive marketing methods are counteracted, which is the core of the counter-proposal's requirement for prohibition or opt-in for telephone sales. The plan also values the protected sphere whose violation violates personal integrity and requires effective legal rules for consumers. That particularly vulnerable groups are affected weighs heavily in the plan's solidarity principle.

• against aggressive marketingdecisive»aggressiva marknadsföringsmetoder ska motverkas.« (party programme ↗)“aggressive marketing methods shall be counteracted.”
• protection for private life»Intrång i den fredade sfär som varje person bör vara garanterad innebär att den personliga« (party programme ↗)“Intrusion in the protected sphere that every person should be guaranteed means that the personal”
• strong consumer protection»En fungerande marknadsekonomi kräver aktiva och välinformerade konsumenter samt« (party programme ↗)“A functioning market economy requires active and well-informed consumers and”
• consumer information»En väl utbyggd konsumentinformation är nödvändig.« (party programme ↗)“A well-developed consumer information is necessary.”

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 gives freedom of enterprise strong protection and states that state intervention is far from always the solution; the line towards enterprises is fewer rules, not new prohibitions. Against fraud and intruding attacks on older people, the plan chooses the justice system's path, with aggravated elder abuse offences and more resources for fraud investigations. A ban on telemarketing or mandatory opt-in therefore does not follow from the plan.

• protection of freedom of enterprisedecisive»Äganderätten och näringsfriheten ska ha ett starkt skydd i« (party programme ↗)“Property rights and freedom of enterprise shall have strong protection in”
• restraint with prohibitions»Statliga ingripanden är långt ifrån alltid« (party programme ↗)“State interventions are far from always”
• fewer rules for enterprises»Ta bort en tredjedel av företagens administrationskostnader och en tredjedel av regelkrånglet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Remove a third of businesses' administrative costs and a third of red tape”
• combat fraud through justice»Satsa mer pengar på att utreda bedrägeribrott och annan brottslighet mot äldre« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Invest more money in investigating fraud and other crime against older people”

The plan does not address consumer protection in telephone sales. The nearest principle is that unnecessary rules should be removed where the cost to companies does not match the benefit to society and that new rules should be cost-effective. A ban, or alternatively a strict opt-in solution, is a noticeable new intervention against an entire industry and thus does not align with the plan's line.

• proportional regulatory burdendecisive»För att få fler och växande företag är det viktigt att ta bort onödiga regler där kostnaderna för företagen inte motsvarar nyttan för samhället.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“To get more and growing companies it is important to remove unnecessary rules where the costs for companies do not match the benefit to society.”
• cost-effective rules»Nya regler ska vara kostnadseffektiva och befintliga regler behöver ses över.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“New rules should be cost-effective and existing rules need to be reviewed.”
• rule simplification for business»Verka för regelförenkling och avlasta småföretagens administrativa börda« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Work toward simplification of rules and relieve small enterprises' administrative burden”