Police criticism misdirected

Today, the National Police Commissioner and the National Director of Criminal Investigation write in an opinion piece that they think several telephone and internet providers have prevented their work. I believe that the person who has actually prevented their work is the government and Minister of Justice Beatrice Ask, who has not clearly clarified the rules that apply to the operators regarding traffic data storage.

While it is regrettable that the lack of clarity causes problems for police investigations, the article overlooks the situation that operators now find themselves in. When the rules are unclear, it is not surprising that operators choose not to store traffic data. It costs money for an operator to store data. A cost that consumers ultimately have to pay, as I have written about before. In addition, an operator may choose not to store traffic data to protect the privacy of its customers.

I agree that citizens deserve a police force with reasonable powers. However, I believe that ordinary decent citizens also deserve some protection of their privacy. Furthermore, at the risk of sounding like a nag, I think that Sweden deserves a response from its Minister of Justice.