From Decrypt · By Jose Antonio Lanz
In brief
Sweden's Government Offices will block ChatGPT and Claude on staff computers starting October 26.
The government is citing information security concerns, with Microsoft Copilot remaining the only approved tool after a dedicated security review.
Sweden's Tax Agency and the National Board of Institutional Care have already imposed similar bans, and the Enforcement Authority is expected to announce its own decision soon.
Sweden's Government Offices—the administrative body supporting the prime minister and cabinet—will block ChatGPT and Claude on staff computers from Monday, directing civil servants to Microsoft's Copilot as the only approved AI tool, according to Sweden’s national, publicly funded radio broadcaster Sveriges Radio.
The reasoning comes from Mikael Wettercrantz, the Government Offices' director of digitalisation, who posted on the staff intranet that using AI services without a formal contract can have "consequences for our information security."
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“We have seen several examples of problematic use of open AI services. The examples concern both the sensitivity of the information that has been entered and how the AI-generated responses have been handled,” he said.
Consumer AI tools without formal agreements send user queries to external company servers—and U.S. law allows authorities to compel those companies to hand over data on request.
A formal security agreement, at minimum, defines what the provider can and cannot do with government employees' inputs, which is why the distinction between a vetted enterprise contract and an open consumer tool matters here.
Copilot passes because the Government Offices reviewed it and raised its security settings after the review—something it did not do for ChatGPT or Claude. Some employees can still access both blocked tools through an AI platform the Government Offices built internally, though the press office hasn't said how many people that covers or what restrictions apply.
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