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Data protection

What is meant by privacy? What is personal data? We will try to explain these terms.

Data relating to you is registered throughout your life. At school, at the bank, at work, when you buy things, when you travel, when you go to the doctor's, when you take out insurance or borrow books at the library. And many researchers want to compile information about you. Your private sphere might also be concerned when information about you is published on the Internet.

Registration and processing of personal data is necessary in many contexts in order for operations to function but you have the right to a protected zone. The Swedish Constitution in fact states that you are to be protected against your personal privacy being violated through information about you being processed by computer. The form of this protection is described in more detail in other laws and it is Swedish Authority for Privacy Protection that has been tasked with ensuring that this protection is effective.

For example, information about you may only be registered for specified purposes that may not be changed later, you are to be given information about the processing, you have the right to check that the information is accurate, and errors are to be rectified.

Personal data

Personal data is any kind of information that can be linked to a living person. This might for example be your name, address and personal identity number. 

What is actually meant by personal data?

Sensitive personal data

More information in English

Learn more

About the information on this page

If the information in English is different from the Swedish version of this page, the Swedish version applies.

Latest update: 24 September 2021
Page labels Data protection