Response to interpellation 2024/25:436 on modern and purposeful legislation on duty material
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
The debate concerns the need for a modern and purposeful mandate legislation to adapt the collection to the digital media landscape. L argues that the current legislation is not adapted to digital development and that it is important to have a legally secure and long-term sustainable regulatory framework 1. L emphasizes that the issue is legally and technically complicated, especially regarding copyright issues and EU regulations, which means it is better for the legislation to be correct than for it to be fast 2 3. S considers that the current legislation is outdated and that new legislation is needed so that the National Library can collect material from social media and digital print files 4 5. S argues that new legislation provides socio-economic savings and improves the conditions for research 5. S points out that the National Library itself has stated that the current legislation does not reflect today's media landscape 6.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Utbildningsministern Johan Pehrson (L)
Madam Speaker! Ewa Pihl Krabbe has asked me if I intend to work towards ensuring that a modern and purposeful duty material legislation is established in the near future.
An efficient collection and an efficient provision of published material is of great importance for Swedish research. The collected material also constitutes a part of our common cultural heritage. The current mandatory legislation is not adapted to the digital development and the changed media landscape, and it is therefore important with a new, legally secure and long-term sustainable regulatory framework.
The investigation behind the report Papers, podcasts and … Mandatory material legislation for a secured source material (SOU 2021:32) has submitted proposals on how the mandatory collection of material can be designed so that it becomes media, technology, and format independent.
This is a legally and technically complicated matter that is being prepared within the Government Offices.
Ewa Pihl Krabbe (S)
Madam Speaker! I must begin by thanking you for the answer, even though it was with a certain wonder that I could observe that it was identical to the answers I have received in writing over the recent years from both Minister Mats Persson and Minister Johan Pehrson on the question. I am surprised because this question is hardly a burning political issue that could create conflicts. On the contrary, it should be of interest to the Minister for Education because it largely concerns an important authority, the Royal Library, and future research.
As I wrote in my interpellation, the current mandatory legislation from 1993 and 2012 is normally not outdated in any way. But in just this regard, the legislation is very outdated and completely unadapted to the digital development and the constantly changing media landscape, and it has been so for a good while.
The media development and the major changes in how publishing occurs led to directives for an investigation with the mandate to produce new and purposeful legislation in 2019. Prior to that, the Royal Library had been commissioned by the government of the time to conduct an investigation, which resulted in a report titled Plikten under lupp. In that report, the Royal Library warned of what happens to a legal deposit library if the collected material does not meet the standard.
Then came the investigation *Papper, poddar och … Plikt material lagstiftning för ett tryggat källmaterial 2021*, where the investigator submitted a solid proposal on how the mandatory collection of material can be designed so that it becomes media, technology, and format independent. It can be said briefly that the proposal is a substantial expansion of what should be collected, preserved, and made available as mandatory copies. The mandatory material investigation also proposes that the purpose of the mandatory legislation should appear in the law's introductory provision.
It has been a few years since the investigation submitted its proposal. As I previously said, I have asked questions regarding the matter but have only received answers that work is ongoing in the Government Offices. I can understand that, but it feels undeniably a bit poor that there is no vision for the progress of the work. New legislation must, of course, be done properly, but I am asking the question because I know that this creates problems for the Royal Library, which has to spend a lot of time interpreting the old legislation and is not given the opportunity to collect the material that the present day provides us with. It will also be difficult for the agency Royal Library to support research adequately if the mandatory legislation does not provide the opportunity to collect relevant media forms.
Utbildningsministern Johan Pehrson (L)
Madam Speaker! It is as Ewa Pihl Krabbe says: This is not a major political issue of contention. We are in complete agreement on that. There are other things that set our two parties apart. In this, we can probably agree on the importance of such legislation being well-functioning, legally secure, purposeful, and long-term sustainable.
The need for a modern and purposeful duty legislation has existed for a long time. We want to ensure that the legislation works in practice and does not create any unwanted consequences, for example when it comes to copyright issues – something that makes this particularly complex – or imposes entirely new technical requirements on suppliers. The development here is moving very fast. Therefore, it is important that the analysis continues on how the commission's proposals can be implemented in a way that takes into account, at the very least, the copyright complexity.
When it comes to the duty collection for the future, it is better that it is correct than that it goes fast. Regarding the latter, however, there is no risk of being blamed, and I have full understanding of that.
We are following the preparation closely. It is complicated, I want to emphasize. The Royal Library has many important tasks, for example the one we are now debating, and performs a very important work to make research accessible for the future but also to preserve our constantly ongoing development of our cultural heritage.
A question was asked here regarding the timeline. I hope to be able to return as soon as possible with a statement on just this. However, the preparation is currently ongoing.
Ewa Pihl Krabbe (S)
Madam Speaker! Why then does the government need to consider the proposals of the Mandatory Material Inquiry? Well, one of the Royal Library's tasks is to collect and preserve tomorrow's cultural heritage, just as the Minister said just now. Based on current mandatory legislation, there is a lack of support for the collection of important parts of current and future generations' publication and consumption of media and news, for example, publications on social media.
If one looks at how the choice of channels for news about society differs between those born in the 1900s and those born in the 2000s, one sees large differences. Those born after the turn of the millennium do not have TV channels as their first choice like the population at large; instead, they primarily consume news about society in social media. They also use traditional media to a significantly lesser extent than those born in the 1900s. In fact, social media is overall the only news source that more people born in the 2000s use compared to those born in the 1900s.
Facebook is the social media service that most Swedes consume news on, followed by Instagram, Youtube and Twitter. And of those of us born in the 1900s, only 1 percent use Tiktok for news.
New legislation also provides long-term socio-economic savings and implies an adaptation to society's digitalization. If the Royal Library can obtain legal access to digital print files, a future digitization process of books, journals, everyday prints, etc., which would be both costly and unnecessary, is avoided, and the process can then be concentrated on the historical material.
Another benefit is that research is given the conditions to understand, for example, how information and disinformation spread in society, can make influence campaigns and fake news visible, and furthermore also take part in digital versions of such things that are only collected as physical books, for example e-books.
So therefore, Madam Speaker, it is important with a new duty legislation.
Utbildningsministern Johan Pehrson (L)
Madam Speaker! I share the member's view. The legislation is based on the fact that we have taken into account the experiences from other countries where some progress has been made, and it has then been adapted to Swedish conditions and our legal context.
We continue to look for a regulation that becomes correct from the beginning rather than one that will need to be adjusted again later. We can then balance the opposing interests in different ways. Copyright regulates how digital material may be collected, stored, and made available. Here, there is a balance between the interests of the rights holders and society's needs for long-term preservation and research access.
I cannot emphasize enough how complex the issue of collective management is in the interaction between Swedish national legislation and EU copyright rules in order to get the law in place in a purposeful way.
Even though there are requests, I cannot provide an exact timeframe, but the work is ongoing within the Government Offices.
Ewa Pihl Krabbe (S)
Madam Speaker! I just want to conclude by quoting the annual reports from recent years.
In the 2023 annual report, the following states: ”KB's collection does not currently reflect today's media landscape as the collection is limited by the types of materials covered by current mandatory legislation.”
In the annual report for 2024, the following is stated: ”In order for KB to manage the task of constituting a national research infrastructure and working towards a democratic societal development, the mandatory legislation must, however, be revised.”
I will not weary the Minister with more details. I only hope it is clear that the country needs modern and purposeful duty material legislation soon – though preferably yesterday.
Utbildningsministern Johan Pehrson (L)
Madam Speaker! I can emphasize that this is not a question that tires, but this is an extremely urgent matter for the important mission and work that the Royal Library performs in this regard.
I have once again looked at the regulatory letter that the government has given for the current year for the Royal Library's work to strengthen the protection of information and cybersecurity as well as to look at the pressing mission to work together with other agencies to highlight 250 years of Jewish life in Sweden. A previous mission where the Royal Library has a special responsibility will be reported during the year, namely that of library services all around the country.
These are complex issues. I hope that we, without being able to state an exact timeframe, can return as soon as possible to establish routines to more efficiently use the extensive hundreds of millions that the Royal Library receives in appropriations from this chamber every year for this important and urgent mission.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.