A Swedish perspective on Chat Control 2.0: A socio-legal study of how Chat Control is perceived in a Swedish context
(2025) SOLM12 20251Department of Sociology of Law
- Abstract
- A voluntary EU law was implemented in 2022, which allowed communicative services to monitor all sent messages on their platforms in search of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) online. Its proposed successor, infamously called ‘Chat Control 2.0’, expanded these ideas further, demanding communicative services to monitor all sent messages and stored emails in search of CSAM. As the discussions of the proposed law primarily focused on its legal implications, this study aimed to explore its subjective implications, specifically examining how the law was perceived concerning feelings of personal integrity and freedom within a Swedish context.
By conducting six semi-structured interviews in Swedish, the results showed that the participants had... (More) - A voluntary EU law was implemented in 2022, which allowed communicative services to monitor all sent messages on their platforms in search of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) online. Its proposed successor, infamously called ‘Chat Control 2.0’, expanded these ideas further, demanding communicative services to monitor all sent messages and stored emails in search of CSAM. As the discussions of the proposed law primarily focused on its legal implications, this study aimed to explore its subjective implications, specifically examining how the law was perceived concerning feelings of personal integrity and freedom within a Swedish context.
By conducting six semi-structured interviews in Swedish, the results showed that the participants had very limited to no knowledge of the proposal. While all of them supported the aim to reduce CSAM online, the monitoring method was met with scepticism by most. Although it would function as a safety measure that could strengthen the welfare of children, it would also cause major privacy infringement. To some, this trade-off was justified, while others opposed it, perceiving the law as unjust with limited effectiveness. Even though many participants expressed similar answers, their varied perceptions of the law were colored by individual experiences, affecting how they positioned themselves to the law.
In the analysis, Foucauldian governmentality and Ewick and Silbey’s theory of legal consciousness were applied. It showed that Chat Control was, to some, perceived as a rational response to a societal risk, which produced governable subjects who often accepted such surveillance in exchange for security. Others indicated resistance to the law, viewing it as an oppressive tool with an aim to assert control over citizens, justified by its security rationale. Lastly, a normalization through anticipation was also identified when the interviewees
unknowingly or knowingly accepted future use of surveillance measures. Thus, Chat Control can not simply be viewed as a policy, but also as a discursive mechanism that can reshape boundaries of liberal governance through the subtle production of consent. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9193904
- author
- Lindberg, Erik LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- SOLM12 20251
- year
- 2025
- type
- H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
- subject
- keywords
- Chat Control, freedom, Foucauldian governmentality, integrity, law, legal consciousness, perception, self-governance, Swedish citizens.
- language
- English
- id
- 9193904
- date added to LUP
- 2025-06-23 09:39:21
- date last changed
- 2025-06-23 09:39:21
@misc{9193904,
abstract = {{A voluntary EU law was implemented in 2022, which allowed communicative services to monitor all sent messages on their platforms in search of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) online. Its proposed successor, infamously called ‘Chat Control 2.0’, expanded these ideas further, demanding communicative services to monitor all sent messages and stored emails in search of CSAM. As the discussions of the proposed law primarily focused on its legal implications, this study aimed to explore its subjective implications, specifically examining how the law was perceived concerning feelings of personal integrity and freedom within a Swedish context.
By conducting six semi-structured interviews in Swedish, the results showed that the participants had very limited to no knowledge of the proposal. While all of them supported the aim to reduce CSAM online, the monitoring method was met with scepticism by most. Although it would function as a safety measure that could strengthen the welfare of children, it would also cause major privacy infringement. To some, this trade-off was justified, while others opposed it, perceiving the law as unjust with limited effectiveness. Even though many participants expressed similar answers, their varied perceptions of the law were colored by individual experiences, affecting how they positioned themselves to the law.
In the analysis, Foucauldian governmentality and Ewick and Silbey’s theory of legal consciousness were applied. It showed that Chat Control was, to some, perceived as a rational response to a societal risk, which produced governable subjects who often accepted such surveillance in exchange for security. Others indicated resistance to the law, viewing it as an oppressive tool with an aim to assert control over citizens, justified by its security rationale. Lastly, a normalization through anticipation was also identified when the interviewees
unknowingly or knowingly accepted future use of surveillance measures. Thus, Chat Control can not simply be viewed as a policy, but also as a discursive mechanism that can reshape boundaries of liberal governance through the subtle production of consent.}},
author = {{Lindberg, Erik}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{A Swedish perspective on Chat Control 2.0: A socio-legal study of how Chat Control is perceived in a Swedish context}},
year = {{2025}},
}