06 March, 2025
How does the Supreme Court’s ban on legal databases affect background check companies?
Recently, the Supreme Court (HD) in Sweden has made decisions that greatly affect the possibility of using legal databases to provide criminal judgments to the public and companies. These rulings have raised considerable concerns in the business community and among employers, as they make it difficult to carry out effective background checks in recruitment. Read on below.
Background to the Supreme Court’s decision
On February 25, 2025, the Supreme Court announced decisions in two cases in which news agencies and companies that provide background checks had requested large amounts of convictions and other documents in criminal cases from the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal had disclosed the documents with reservations that limited the possibility of forwarding or using the information.
The Supreme Court noted that the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) can affect the confidentiality of personal data in criminal judgments, even within the constitutionally protected area. The Court found that the regime sought by the legislator is not compatible with the GDPR and that legislative measures are therefore needed to balance freedom of expression and information with data protection.
Consequences for background checks
The decision means that companies such as Verifiera can no longer conduct their business in the same way as before. Gunnar Axén, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Verifiera, expresses concern that the decision benefits criminals who can now more easily infiltrate companies and authorities. He believes that in practice it will be impossible for both companies, authorities and individuals to carry out effective background checks, which makes the work of preventing crime more difficult and weakens journalists’ opportunities to scrutinize criminals.
Almega, an employers’ organisation, also expresses concern about the decision’s impact on employers’ ability to carry out background checks in recruitments. They point out that organized crime has targeted companies and that the Supreme Court’s decision makes it more difficult for companies to protect themselves against such infiltration.
Leo Kischinowsky, regional sales manager Sweden, has his say.
“A great victory for the criminals!” according to Gunnar Axén… Or?
At last, criminals are freed from the terrible burden of having their sentences openly published for public viewing. What a relief for them! Poor, all the curious neighbours and private scouts – what are they going to do with their free time?
But let’s be honest: this is not about protecting criminals. It’s about the rest of us – the 99% (give or take) of us who were NOT prosecuted for crimes last year (or earlier in life).
The real problem? Not that these databases exist, but that anyone has been able to spread sensitive information about anyone, completely without control. This is in violation of both Swedish legislation and GDPR.
The solution is simple: regulate which companies are allowed to handle this information and on what terms. Serious actors, who carry out background checks on behalf of companies, need to have access to this data – but it should not be a Wild West for everyone with an internet connection. “
