Sweden has a very old tradition of open government, and the default status for governmental documents since 1766 is public. They are open to anyone, not just to journalists, although journalists are more experienced than ordinary citizens in gathering and using public documents. During the past 50 years, secrecy clauses have become increasingly common in legislation. The motives for this are said to be privacy concerns due to the openness of digital documentation, protection of personal integrity, and protection of commercial and state interests.
Swedish citizens and journalists still have very good access to most kinds of governmental documents. Some cases have been reported when government officials have not documented their decisions in writing in order to avoid public scrutiny.
The journalists’ union declared that the principle of transparency needed to be continuously defended. Interviews with reporters revealed differences between state agencies and problems in gathering information when schools go from being public to operating privately.
