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BBS-lagen, till vilken nytta? - En kritisk analys av lagens tillämpning och normativa effekter

Saadio, Isak LU (2025) JURM02 20252
Department of Law
Faculty of Law
Abstract (Swedish)
Lag (1998:112) om elektroniska anslagstavlor (BBS-lagen) syftar till att ålägga tillhandahållaren av digitala tjänster så som diskussionsforum en straffsanktionerad skyldighet att radera eller förhindra fortsatt spridning av brottsligt material på tjänsten. Tjänstetillhandahållaren är skyldig att hålla uppsikt över tjänsten antingen genom eget arbete, genom att tillsätta moderatorer som utför arbetet, eller genom att låta tjänstens egna användare moderera innehållet genom en rapporteringsfunktion som uppmärksammar tjänstens tillhandahållare om potentiellt brottsligt innehåll. Lagen stiftades i syfte att motarbeta att meddelanden vars innehåll utgör olaga hot, olaga integritetsintrång, uppvigling, hets mot folkgrupp, barnpornografibrott,... (More)
Lag (1998:112) om elektroniska anslagstavlor (BBS-lagen) syftar till att ålägga tillhandahållaren av digitala tjänster så som diskussionsforum en straffsanktionerad skyldighet att radera eller förhindra fortsatt spridning av brottsligt material på tjänsten. Tjänstetillhandahållaren är skyldig att hålla uppsikt över tjänsten antingen genom eget arbete, genom att tillsätta moderatorer som utför arbetet, eller genom att låta tjänstens egna användare moderera innehållet genom en rapporteringsfunktion som uppmärksammar tjänstens tillhandahållare om potentiellt brottsligt innehåll. Lagen stiftades i syfte att motarbeta att meddelanden vars innehåll utgör olaga hot, olaga integritetsintrång, uppvigling, hets mot folkgrupp, barnpornografibrott, olaga våldsskildring eller uppmaning till terrorism får spridning på internet. Då lagen stiftades 1998 förutspådde lagstiftaren att lagen skulle utgöra ett kraftfullt verktyg för att motverka missbruk av elektroniska anslagstavlor så som webbforum genom att ge tjänstetillhandahållaren straffrättsligt ansvar för tjänstens innehåll. Lagen har dessvärre haft väldigt begränsat genomslag i praktiken. Antingen så förekommer straffvärda meddelanden inte på internet till den grad som läsaren kanske tror, eller så finns det en anledning till att BBS-lagen inte används för att bekämpa detta problem. Frågan blir om BBS-lagen saknar effektivitet, eller om lagens påverkan på problemet sker någonstans utanför rättssystemets gränser. Det här arbetet utreder BBS-lagens effektivitet i förhållande till dess praktiska verkställande samt potentiellt normbildande effekter. I arbetet behandlas särskilt lagens uppenbarhetskrav och uppsiktskrav som centrala begränsningsmekanismer i BBS-lagen. Arbetet visar att dessa krav, som är avsedda att värna om rättssäkerheten, samtidigt kraftigt begränsar lagens praktiska genomslag. Genomgången av förarbeten, doktrin och rättspraxis visar att tröskeln för straffansvar är högt satt och att det i praktiken är svårt att visa att ett visst innehåll varit uppenbart brottsligt samt att tillhandahållaren haft faktisk möjlighet och skyldighet att ingripa. Detta bidrar till att antalet åtal och fällande domar är mycket begränsat. Genom att senare redogöra för den normbildande dimensionen av lagstiftning, och olika aspekter av den brottsprevention som kriminalisering utgör, så redogör arbetet även för de potentiella effekter som lagen kan ha haft på området utanför rättstillämpningen. Detta sker i syfte att ge ett bredare perspektiv på effektivitetsbegreppet, och en bättre förståelse för lagen både som brottsbekämpande verktyg, och som en normbildande aktör inom branschen av elektroniska anslagstavlor. I en bedömning av både den praktiska och den normativa effektiviteten så framstår lagen som effektiv i relation till syftet att etablera en bättre standard för moderation och uppsikt över hemsidor såsom webbforum. Denna positiva effekt hotas dock av lagens begränsade tillämpning i praktiken. Om lagen med tid uppfattas som verkanslös, så hotas även de normbildande effekter som i nuläget utgör lagens primära funktion. (Less)
Abstract
The Act (1998:112) on Electronic Bulletin Boards (the BBS Act) aims to impose a criminally sanctioned obligation on providers of digital services, to remove or prevent the continued spread of criminal content on their services. The service provider is required to supervise the service either through their own efforts, by appointing moderators to perform this task, or by allowing the service’s users to moderate the content through a reporting function that alerts the provider to potentially criminal material. The Act was enacted with the purpose of counteracting the spread on the internet of messages whose content constitutes unlawful threats, unlawful violation of privacy, incitement, agitation against a national or ethnic group, child... (More)
The Act (1998:112) on Electronic Bulletin Boards (the BBS Act) aims to impose a criminally sanctioned obligation on providers of digital services, to remove or prevent the continued spread of criminal content on their services. The service provider is required to supervise the service either through their own efforts, by appointing moderators to perform this task, or by allowing the service’s users to moderate the content through a reporting function that alerts the provider to potentially criminal material. The Act was enacted with the purpose of counteracting the spread on the internet of messages whose content constitutes unlawful threats, unlawful violation of privacy, incitement, agitation against a national or ethnic group, child pornography offences, unlawful depictions of violence, or incitement to terrorism. When the Act was introduced in 1998, the legislator predicted that it would serve as a powerful tool to combat the misuse of electronic bulletin boards such as web forums by imposing criminal liability on service providers for the content of their services. Unfortunately, the Act has had a very limited practical impact. Either criminally punishable messages do not occur on the internet to the extent that the reader might assume, or there is a reason as to why the BBS Act is not used to combat this problem. This raises the question of whether the BBS Act lacks effectiveness, or whether its influence on the problem operates somewhere beyond the boundaries of the legal system. This thesis examines the effectiveness of the BBS Act in relation to its practical enforcement as well as its potential norm-shaping effects. Attention is given to the Act’s requirement of obviousness and the duty of supervision as central limiting mechanisms within the BBS Act. The study demonstrates that these requirements, which are intended to safeguard legal certainty, simultaneously impose significant constraints on the Act’s practical impact. A review of preparatory works, legal doctrine and case law shows that the threshold for liability is set at a high level and that, in practice, it’s difficult to establish that specific content was manifestly criminal and that the service provider had the actual ability and obligation to intervene. This contributes to the very limited number of convictions. By subsequently addressing the norm-shaping dimension of legislation and various aspects of criminalisation as a form of crime prevention, the thesis also accounts for the potential effects the Act may have had in areas outside legal enforcement. This is done to provide a broader perspective on the concept of effectiveness and an understanding of the Act both as a crime-combating instrument and as a norm-shaping actor within the industry. In an assessment of both practical and normative effectiveness, the Act appears effective in relation to its purpose of establishing higher standards for moderation and supervision of websites such as web forums. However, this positive effect is threatened by the Act’s limited application. If the Act comes to be perceived as ineffective, the norm-shaping effects that currently constitute its primary function are also at risk. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Saadio, Isak LU
supervisor
organization
alternative title
The BBS-law, what's the use? - A critical analysis of the application and norm-shaping effects of the law
course
JURM02 20252
year
type
H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
subject
keywords
straffrätt, IT-rätt
language
Swedish
id
9217488
date added to LUP
2026-01-26 12:42:54
date last changed
2026-01-26 12:42:54
@misc{9217488,
  abstract     = {{The Act (1998:112) on Electronic Bulletin Boards (the BBS Act) aims to impose a criminally sanctioned obligation on providers of digital services, to remove or prevent the continued spread of criminal content on their services. The service provider is required to supervise the service either through their own efforts, by appointing moderators to perform this task, or by allowing the service’s users to moderate the content through a reporting function that alerts the provider to potentially criminal material. The Act was enacted with the purpose of counteracting the spread on the internet of messages whose content constitutes unlawful threats, unlawful violation of privacy, incitement, agitation against a national or ethnic group, child pornography offences, unlawful depictions of violence, or incitement to terrorism. When the Act was introduced in 1998, the legislator predicted that it would serve as a powerful tool to combat the misuse of electronic bulletin boards such as web forums by imposing criminal liability on service providers for the content of their services. Unfortunately, the Act has had a very limited practical impact. Either criminally punishable messages do not occur on the internet to the extent that the reader might assume, or there is a reason as to why the BBS Act is not used to combat this problem. This raises the question of whether the BBS Act lacks effectiveness, or whether its influence on the problem operates somewhere beyond the boundaries of the legal system. This thesis examines the effectiveness of the BBS Act in relation to its practical enforcement as well as its potential norm-shaping effects. Attention is given to the Act’s requirement of obviousness and the duty of supervision as central limiting mechanisms within the BBS Act. The study demonstrates that these requirements, which are intended to safeguard legal certainty, simultaneously impose significant constraints on the Act’s practical impact. A review of preparatory works, legal doctrine and case law shows that the threshold for liability is set at a high level and that, in practice, it’s difficult to establish that specific content was manifestly criminal and that the service provider had the actual ability and obligation to intervene. This contributes to the very limited number of convictions. By subsequently addressing the norm-shaping dimension of legislation and various aspects of criminalisation as a form of crime prevention, the thesis also accounts for the potential effects the Act may have had in areas outside legal enforcement. This is done to provide a broader perspective on the concept of effectiveness and an understanding of the Act both as a crime-combating instrument and as a norm-shaping actor within the industry. In an assessment of both practical and normative effectiveness, the Act appears effective in relation to its purpose of establishing higher standards for moderation and supervision of websites such as web forums. However, this positive effect is threatened by the Act’s limited application. If the Act comes to be perceived as ineffective, the norm-shaping effects that currently constitute its primary function are also at risk.}},
  author       = {{Saadio, Isak}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{BBS-lagen, till vilken nytta? - En kritisk analys av lagens tillämpning och normativa effekter}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}