C077

In Sweden, anyone can get a media license and get exempt from the GDPR. While Article 85 of the GDPR allows member states to limit the application of some elements of the GDPR in the area of journalism (to e.g. protect sources or undercover investigations), Sweden took a brute force approach to this exception. Swedish national legislation makes it extremely easy to obtain a “media licence”, even if a company's activities are not even remotely related to those of a news outlet and clearly just focused on sharing and selling personal data. Even data brokers, meaning privately operated companies that buy and sell the personal data of millions of people without their knowledge, can use this loophole to exempt themselves from any obligations under the GDPR. This deprives the people of their fundamental right to privacy and exposes their most intimate data to the internet.