STOCKHOLM—A new proposal before Swedish Parliament, the unicameral Riksdag, seeks to overhaul the country's laws protecting minors from sexual abuse and fraud committed against the elderly. However, the proposal goes as far as criminalizing the purchase of "remote" sexual acts. If adopted, the law will enter force on July 1, 2025.
The bill, 2024/25:124, is currently under review by the Lagrådet, a council on legislation, and is not yet law.
According to the bill text, a significant portion of the new measure criminalizes the purchase and procurement of sexual acts "performed remotely" via digital, user-generated content platforms. Platforms that the criminalization would cover include tube sites, camming platforms, clip sites and premium social media networks, among others.
The proposal is being presented as a measure to counter exploitation on the internet, especially among minors, and the proliferation of child sexual abuse material.
Criminalizing sex buying on the internet and any other remote means of communication is a significant bulking of Sweden's so-called "Nordic model."
The Nordic model makes it a crime to buy sex from sex providers, who are covered by decriminalization. But many critics of the model, especially major sex workers' rights organizations, say the Nordic model makes sex work a lot more dangerous for those engaged in the variations of the profession.
The critics concerned with this new proposal believe it would lead to censorship and an inadvertent prohibition covering online porn depicting one or more consenting adults.
"Sweden’s Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression (1991) protects expressive rights, including on online platforms," writes Marc Randazza, an adult entertainment industry attorney, in a press submission to AVN. "It contains limited exceptions for things like incitement to violence, defamation, or explicit threats."
He adds, "The government’s proposal to criminalize user-generated content could conflict with this right, particularly for creators who argue they are exercising their freedom to produce and share consensual content." Other critics include the country's news media and adult industry professionals.
For example, columnist Johanna Nylander wrote in the newspaper Kristianstadsbladet that banning platforms like OnlyFans, which is explicitly mentioned in the proposed law, is counterproductive and potentially harmful.
"Instead of banning and restricting the ability of adults to charge for nudity on the other side of a screen, the focus should be on cases that actually have a victim," Nylander wrote in March. "If the home posers are paid, they should pay taxes, not be forced out into the back streets of the internet."
