As early as 1766, the Freedom of the Press Act, the world's oldest constitution protecting freedom of the press and freedom of expression, devoted a significant part to the right of individuals to transparency in public activities. Ever since, transparency has been the main rule and secrecy the exception.

This may be about to change. These developments appear to undermine the long-standing political consensus on the centrality of the principle for democracy, legal certainty and administrative efficiency. The digitization of society means that information about individuals that is in the public domain is widely disseminated online by commercial actors. There is then a risk that the data will be used by criminal interests. At the same time, there are increased demands under European law that Sweden should balance the interest in public access to information against the individual's right to privacy in a more nuanced way. Does the principle of openness still work as intended?

Dr. Mikael Ruotsi, Department of Law at Uppsala University, explores the constitutional choices that can ensure that the principle of public access remains relevant in the face of societal challenges. Is the Swedish constitutional regulation of the right to access public documents appropriately designed to achieve a reasonable balance between the interest of public access and conflicting interests and rights? The research project seeks answers to how the principlej can be adapted to continue to guarantee openness and transparency, while protecting the privacy of the individual.

Research supported by the Torsten Söderberg Foundation