Photo: CEphoto, Uwe Aranas / CC BY-SA 3.0
Sweden is closing a gap in its hate-speech laws: Holocaust denial that amounts to incitement against a protected group will also be punishable under the country’s constitutional rules for the press and other protected media.
Parliament approved the final constitutional amendment on Wednesday. The change takes effect on January 1, 2027, the Riksdag said in its announcement.
Holocaust denial can already be punished under Sweden’s criminal code when it constitutes agitation against a population group. The amendment extends the explicit wording into the Freedom of the Press Act, one of the country’s fundamental laws.
Why the change matters online
The practical focus is hate propaganda on the internet, where some publications can fall under constitutional press protections, according to Dagens Nyheter’s report on the decision. For publishers, the change makes clear that those protections do not put this form of incitement beyond the press-law framework.
The measure explicitly covers denial of the Holocaust and certain other international crimes. Parliament said it also clarifies that incitement to violence is covered and gives individuals in protected groups injured-party status, with a right to damages.
Second vote completes the constitutional process
Changing Sweden’s constitution requires parliament to approve the same proposal twice, with a parliamentary election between the votes. The first vote took place on May 22, 2024. Wednesday’s decision was the second, following the election.
The change does not mean Holocaust denial was lawful until now. It brings explicit provisions into the constitutional system governing press and expression offenses, alongside the existing criminal-code protection.
JBizNews Desk | Stockholm
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