The Swedish Authority for Privacy Protection (IMY) has launched an investigation concerning the mass sending of text messages by political parties during the election campaign.

This investigation, based on the GDPR and the regulation on political advertising, targets campaigns conducted by the Sweden Democrats party and the Örebro party. It follows the receipt of approximately 1,500 complaints and reports concerning the first party and a smaller number for the second. The investigations will focus on the legal basis for the processing of personal data, the criteria for selecting recipients, as well as the technology used. IMY emphasized that the possibility for parties to send such messages to people who are not members or have not expressed interest is extremely limited.