Sweden has a very old tradition of open government, and the default position for governmental documents since 1766 is that they are public. They are open to anyone, not just to journalists, although journalists are more experienced than the ordinary citizen in gathering and using public documents. During the past 50 years, secrecy clauses have become increasingly common in the legislation. The motives are often said to be the power of digital documentation, protection of personal integrity and protection of commercial and state interests.
Swedish citizens (and journalists) still have good opportunities to gain access to most kinds of governmental documents, but for instance the Journalists’ Union argues that other countries have now implemented legislation that gives better access to electronic documents than in Sweden. Some cases have been reported when government officials have not documented their decisions in writing in order to avoid public scrutiny.
