The Ministry of Justice has previously submitted a bill where illegal photography is classified as a crime. The purpose of the bill is to protect private individuals from being photographed or filmed in situations that violate personal integrity.
The Swedish Data Protection Authority has reviewed the proposal and supports it, but believes that it needs to be clarified what type of photography applies.
– There is a clear need to be able to intervene against offensive photography or filming of people in intimate situations, or in places where you have the right to be left alone, says Datainspektionen’s Deputy Director General Hans-Olof Lindblom.
The bill has set the penalty provision to a fine or a maximum of one year in prison. The change in law is proposed to enter into force on 1 July 2012.