The confidentiality surrounding individuals’ personal and financial information may be abolished between Swedish authorities. The government has launched an inquiry to review a sweeping change to the current system—and will also investigate whether confidential information, in certain cases, should be allowed to be shared with private actors.

Currently, the main rule is that confidential information held by one authority cannot be shared with another authority unless there is specific legal support for it. The government believes that this can hinder efforts to combat things like benefit fraud, incorrect payments, regulatory violations, and other criminal activity, and has therefore tasked a special investigator with reviewing whether the system should be fundamentally reformed.

The inquiry will explicitly analyze whether confidentiality protecting individuals’ personal and financial circumstances should be abolished between authorities. This is not only about adding further exceptions for certain specifically identified situations, but about examining whether the main rule itself can be changed.

Healthcare Data May Also Be Affected

In recent years, the government has already made it easier for authorities to share information. Since December 1, 2025, for example, there is a general provision breaking confidentiality that makes it possible to share certain confidential information between authorities when needed to, among other things, combat crime, fraud, and incorrect payments.

However, this provision contains limitations and a balancing of interests must be carried out before information is disclosed. Certain particularly sensitive information, including that which falls under healthcare confidentiality, is also exempted.

It is precisely such boundaries that the new inquiry will take a much closer look at. The government writes that the analysis is especially relevant regarding confidentiality that normally cannot be lifted under current rules, and explicitly cites healthcare confidentiality as an example.

The investigator will therefore assess whether an abolition should apply to all authorities or if some should be exempt, and whether certain types of information will continue to require special protection.

Information May Be Shared with Private Actors

The assignment does not stop at information exchanges within the state, municipalities, and regions.

The investigator will also map whether private and other non-governmental actors need better opportunities to access confidential information about individuals in order to prevent, stop, or detect crime. The government opens up to the possibility that a new general provision breaking confidentiality may be necessary if the assessment shows there is sufficient need.

The directive mentions companies as examples of actors who might play a role in combating crime. The government notes that private actors may help detect crime and reduce improper payments to criminals.

At the same time, the obvious privacy issue is highlighted. If sensitive information is provided to a private actor, it must be possible to ensure that the information is not further disseminated and that the recipient has a legal right to process the personal data.

GDPR Still Applies

Abolishing confidentiality would therefore not mean that authorities could freely share all information about people with one another.

The EU General Data Protection Regulation, GDPR, would still apply. Among other requirements, there must be a lawful purpose and a legal basis for the processing of personal data, and authorities may not collect or disseminate more information than necessary. Particularly sensitive data, such as that regarding health, religion, and political views, is also subject to special rules.

The government itself acknowledges that abolishing confidentiality would fundamentally change the Swedish legal structure. The current confidentiality rules not only function as a prohibition against disclosure but are also part of the legal basis for how personal data can be handled.

The investigator will therefore analyze what new protective regulations may be needed if the confidentiality barrier is removed and how the reform can be reconciled with both GDPR, the constitutional protection of privacy, and the European Convention on Human Rights.

To Combat Fraud and Crime

The background is the government’s ambition to get authorities to cooperate more effectively against organized crime and the criminal economy.

The directives mention, among other things, fraud, incorrect payments from the welfare systems, regulatory violations, irregularities, and criminal activity as problems where today’s information barriers can hinder the authorities’ work.

The inquiry is led by Göran Lundahl. The section concerning the possibility to share confidential information with private and other non-governmental actors is to be reported by December 15, 2027, while the full investigation is to be completed by June 15, 2029.