Late and weak - but perhaps a case for open data
First, the government cannot even deliver the proposal on time. If the bill passes in Parliament, it will be more than a year late. The European Commission has long had its eye on Sweden when it comes to open data. In the fall of 2021, the Commission opened an infringement case against Sweden for the second time for not properly implementing the open data directive. So the fact that Sweden is dragging its feet this time too can probably be seen in Brussels as a sign that the government does not think that open data is that important after all. Despite the minister's fine words.
The first PSI Directive was issued back in 2003. The then S-government did almost nothing to take advantage of the possibilities of open data. Without any real attempt to investigate the issue, the government wrote to Brussels and announced that the directive had already been implemented in Swedish law. The Commission caught wind of the inadequate handling and threatened to take Sweden to court. The Alliance government patched and mended with various attempts at legislation. Neither government saw the purpose of the directive - to create value and a dynamic data market. A government inquiry even used the handling of the PSI Directive and open data as a cautionary tale of how not to handle EU directives.
Secondly, if you want to be the best, you have to work hard. When the OECD compared the accessibility of open data in 32 countries in 2019, Sweden came second to last. According to the OECD, this was partly because the PSI Act of 2010 was weak. In the current bill, the government states bluntly that it is only doing what is necessary to comply with EU rules and that it does not want to go beyond them. The ambition to drive development and become a leader in the field is thus lacking. This is, of course, devastating for the chances of actually becoming "best in the world" in this area.
But if we are to try to see some light in the darkness, the bill is perhaps a step forward for open data in Sweden. It will be easier to obtain data in electronic and machine-readable format. The law also applies to universities and colleges and certain research data. Some datasets will be free of charge. But beyond that, what to do?
Perhaps we should take a more realistic view of what the government's ambition really is when it comes to open data. It is of course more boring, but if the government does not actually want to be the best in the world, Sweden should at least have the stated ambition of becoming the best in the Nordic region at making government data available. This is a modest ambition; Norway comes 15th in the OECD ranking. Perhaps this is a challenge that Minister Farmanbar will dare to take on when the law is in place and the government does not have to worry about a lawsuit from Brussels?
Links:
https://www.regeringen.se/pressmeddelanden/2022/04/rattsligt-stod-for-oppna-data/