Commentary on The Swedish Freedom of the Press Ordinance (1766)

The ordinance installed the first legally sanctioned freedom of the press in the world and was preceded by decades of discussions, proposals, and investigations. The issued ordinance was a compromise between various interests; it was not the unlimited freedom of the press that many had hoped for. Prior censorship was abolished except for theological writings, but it was still forbidden to publish seditious libel, defamation, and indecencies. As long as the author was known and took responsibility for the written material, the printer could not be prosecuted, which was a relaxation of previous restrictions. Book import was still regulated. Despite these limitations, the freedom of the press ordinance meant an upswing, particularly for political pamphleteering, and several new printing houses were established.