- More than 200 experts urged Sweden to reject a bill which would oblige encryption deadlines
- If it is adopted, legislation could come into force in March 2026
- The Swedish army also warns that a stolen door would create vulnerabilities that third parties could exploit
More than 200 experts have called on the Swedish Parliament to reject an proposed law which would force the signaling services, WhatsApp and messaging to create a stolen encryption door in their software.
The bill aims to introduce new obligations on data retention and access to electronic information for the application of laws while “guaranteeing respect for fundamental rights and freedoms”.
However, the coalition, made up of some of the best VPNs and providers of secure messaging services, cryptographers and digital rights defenders, warns that the new rules “would greatly undermine the security and privacy of Swedish citizens”.
The risk of security to weaken encryption
As experts stressed in an open -joint letter published on April 8, 2025, “the legislation presents a dangerous approach which would rather create vulnerabilities that criminals and other malicious actors could easily exploit”.
Encryption refers to the shock of the data, which makes them illegible and preventing third -party access. More specifically, end -to -end encryption (E2E) is the technical infrastructure that encrypted messaging applications use to keep your private messages between you and the receiver, from start to finish.
The proposed Swedish legislation aims to facilitate the fight against the application of laws by forcing companies to store and give access to private communication from people on request.
However, experts have long argued that this is not possible without creating a stolen door which fundamentally breaks the safety infrastructure on which encryption is built.
It is like building “a main key that unlocks each door of a building”, noted the coalition, adding that “compromise encryption would leave the citizens and the institutions of Sweden less safe than before”.
Sweden wants #BackDoor #encryption. But we, with more than 230 organizations, say no. # Notobackdoors 💪Wey our open letter to the Swedish Riksdag: 👉 pic.twitter.com/fe1y8raskiApril 8, 2025
The Swedish armed forces have also echoed these security concerns, arguing that the new requirements offered for E2E services “cannot be met without introducing vulnerabilities and waste that third parties can exploit”.
In February, the Swedish army even approved the use of the signal among its employees to make more difficult calls and messages not classified.
Apart from Sweden, recent events such as the attack on Typhon Salt against all the main American telecommunications have also aroused a commitment to all citizens to move on to encrypted services.
Ironically, however, report President Meredith Whittaker has already said that the company prefers to leave Sweden rather than undermining its encryption protections.
If the bill is adopted, the new rules could be applied in March 2026.
Experts now call on the Swedish parliament to reject the law and prioritize policies that strengthen rather than weaken cybersecurity. They wrote: “Security, prosperity and freedom of Sweden depend on it.”
Not only Sweden
Sweden is not the only member of the EU to strive to make people data more easily accessible to the authorities during surveys.
After more than three years trying to transmit a law to scan all the messages of all citizens in the material of sexual violence on children (CSAM) – what is called chat control by its criticisms – The European Commission has just published a new strategy on encryption strolls and access to legal data.
Apart from the EU, Apple is currently facing the United Kingdom before the request to make the ICLOUD encrypted data accessible at any time by the police.
Once considered a confidentiality paradise, even Switzerland now wants to modify its surveillance law to add new types of surveillance and information collection. A change that would extend the scope of the authorities to VPN without log and other secure messaging suppliers.
