Defamation and Online Harassment Laws in Sweden

Sweden has no separate defamation act. The offenses are set out in Chapter 5 of the Penal Code (Brottsbalken), and Chapter 2, Section 3 of the Tort Liability Act requires anyone who seriously violates another person through a crime against their person, liberty, peace or honor to compensate the harm the violation causes. When the statement appears in printed periodicals, broadcasts or certain online databases, defamation and insult are handled as offenses under the Freedom of the Press Act (Chapter 7, Sections 3 and 4) and the Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression (Chapter 5, Section 1).

Sources1Swedish Penal Code (1962:700), Chapter 5 (Swedish)2Tort Liability Act (1972:207), Chapter 2, Section 3 (Swedish)3Freedom of the Press Act (1949:105), Chapter 7, Sections 3-4 (Swedish)4Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression (1991:1469), Chapter 5, Section 1 (Swedish)

Pointing someone out as a criminal or as living a reprehensible life, or giving other information likely to expose them to the contempt of others, is defamation and is punished with a fine (Penal Code, Chapter 5, Section 1). Gross defamation, judged mainly by the content of the information, how it was spread or how widely, or whether it was otherwise likely to cause serious harm, can bring a fine or up to two years in prison (Section 2), and insult can bring a fine or up to six months (Section 3). Under Section 5, only the victim can generally prosecute these offenses, but a public prosecutor may bring charges in some cases, such as defamation of someone under 18 or a defamation offense the victim reports for prosecution, when this is considered to be in the public interest.

Sources1Swedish Penal Code (1962:700), Chapter 5, Sections 1-3 and 5 (Swedish)5Swedish Penal Code (1962:700), Chapter 5 (Riksdag) (Swedish)

Sweden does not separate written and spoken defamation. Under Chapter 35, Section 2 of the Penal Code, an offense becomes time-barred unless the suspect has been served with charges (or detained, or has accepted a summary penalty) within two years when the maximum penalty is no more than one year in prison, which covers ordinary defamation and insult, and within five years when the maximum is over one year but not over two, which covers gross defamation. For printed periodicals with a publishing certificate, the Freedom of the Press Act requires public charges within six months of publication, or one year for other publications, and a damages claim can still be made after the offense can no longer be punished (Chapter 9, Section 5 and Chapter 11, Section 6). Under the Limitation Act, a damages claim generally becomes time-barred ten years after it arose unless the period is interrupted, and a claim for damages caused by a crime does not expire before the criminal limitation period has run out (Sections 2 and 3).

Sources1Swedish Penal Code (1962:700), Chapter 35, Section 2 (Swedish)3Freedom of the Press Act (1949:105), Chapter 9, Section 5 and Chapter 11, Section 6 (Swedish)6Limitation Act (1981:130), Sections 2-3 (Swedish)

Swedish law does not use defamation per se categories. Instead, Chapter 2, Section 3 of the Tort Liability Act lets a person who has been seriously violated by a crime against their honor, such as defamation, claim compensation for the harm that the violation itself causes.

Source2Tort Liability Act (1972:207), Chapter 2, Section 3 (Swedish)

Sweden implemented the EU anti-SLAPP Directive through an act in force since May 1, 2026, but it covers only civil disputes about someone's participation in public debate that have cross-border implications. In those cases either party can ask for the case to be handled quickly, and the court can order the claimant to provide security for legal costs if the defendant asks and there are special reasons. Swedish courts can also hear a Swedish resident's claim for damages or costs linked to proceedings about public debate brought against them outside the EU by a claimant based outside the EU. The act does not apply to cases under the press and media constitutional laws or to damages claims handled together with a criminal prosecution.

Source7Act (2026:241) on protection for participation in public debate in disputes with cross-border implications (Swedish)

There is no general statutory right to demand a retraction. For media covered by the constitutional press and media laws, courts must take into account when sentencing whether a published claim was corrected and the correction was suitably published, and after a conviction for defamation or insult the court can, at the victim's request, order the judgment to be published in the same periodical, or reproduced in a program of the same broadcasting service (Freedom of the Press Act, Chapter 7, Sections 24-25; Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression, Chapter 5, Sections 6-7).

Sources3Freedom of the Press Act (1949:105), Chapter 7, Sections 24-25 (Swedish)4Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression (1991:1469), Chapter 5, Sections 6-7 (Swedish)

Under Chapter 5, Section 1 of the Penal Code, a person is not liable for defamation if they were obliged to speak, or it was otherwise justifiable to give the information, and they show either that it was true or that they had reasonable grounds for it. The Freedom of the Press Act contains a similar defense for media publications (Chapter 7, Section 3).

Sources1Swedish Penal Code (1962:700), Chapter 5, Section 1 (Swedish)3Freedom of the Press Act (1949:105), Chapter 7, Section 3 (Swedish)

Unlawful persecution (olaga förföljelse) under Chapter 4, Section 4 b of the Penal Code covers someone who stalks a person by repeatedly committing listed offenses against them, including molestation, unlawful threats, unlawful violation of privacy, defamation and insult, where each act forms part of a repeated violation of that person's integrity. It carries up to four years in prison, and the listed offenses can be committed online as well as offline.

Source1Swedish Penal Code (1962:700), Chapter 4, Section 4 b (Swedish)

Sweden has no single online harassment offense, so general crimes apply. Molestation (ofredande) covers disturbing contacts or other reckless conduct likely to noticeably disturb someone's peace, punishable by a fine or up to one year (Chapter 4, Section 7), and threatening someone with a crime in a way likely to cause serious fear can bring a fine or up to two years, or one to four years if gross (Chapter 4, Section 5). Since July 1, 2026, repeatedly subjecting someone to violations such as accusations, degrading statements, humiliating behavior or improper monitoring that, taken together, were likely to seriously harm the person's self-esteem can amount to psychological violence, punishable by up to four years (Chapter 4, Section 7 b).

Sources1Swedish Penal Code (1962:700), Chapter 4, Sections 5, 7 and 7 b (Swedish)8Swedish Penal Code (1962:700), amendment register: Act (2026:852), in force July 1, 2026 (Swedish)

The Penal Code does not have an offense aimed specifically at publishing someone's address or contact details. However, spreading images or information about a person's sex life, health or the fact that they were the victim of a crime against their person, liberty or peace, or images of someone in a very vulnerable situation, is unlawful violation of privacy when it is likely to cause serious harm, punishable by a fine or up to two years (Chapter 4, Section 6 c). Using someone's identity details without permission to pose as them in a way that causes them harm or inconvenience is a separate offense (Chapter 4, Section 6 b).

Source1Swedish Penal Code (1962:700), Chapter 4, Sections 6 b and 6 c (Swedish)

Spreading an image of someone's fully or partly naked body, or images about their sex life, is unlawful violation of privacy when it is likely to cause the person serious harm, with a fine or up to two years in prison unless the act was justifiable (Penal Code, Chapter 4, Section 6 c). Gross cases, judged by the content and how widely or in what way the image was spread, carry six months to six years (Section 6 d). Secretly photographing someone inside a home, toilet, changing room or similar space is a separate offense punishable by a fine or up to two years (Section 6 a).

Source1Swedish Penal Code (1962:700), Chapter 4, Sections 6 a, 6 c and 6 d (Swedish)