Sweden is pulling the plug on ChatGPT and Claude across government computers after catching civil servants using unregulated web chatbots for official work. Government employees must now switch over to Microsoft Copilot to get their daily administrative tasks done. Officials made the sudden move to stop sensitive public files from accidentally leaking onto commercial servers abroad.
Data leak risks and shadow IT problems
Reporting from public broadcaster Sveriges Radio revealed that fears over shadow IT pushed digital leaders to lock down government devices. Mikael Wettercrantz, director of digitalization at the Swedish Government Offices, posted on the intranet that using unvetted web tools puts national information security at risk. A recent audit at the Swedish Transport Administration backed up those concerns after discovering employees regularly pasting confidential records into unapproved AI apps.
Reporting from broadcaster SVT confirmed that Sweden approved Microsoft Copilot only after running a thorough security check and locking down its privacy settings. Unlike consumer web tools, formal enterprise agreements guarantee that tech companies cannot store government queries or train future algorithms on them. European privacy laws also impose heavy penalties when sensitive workplace data moves onto foreign servers located outside the region.
Local server workarounds for civil servants
Despite the general web ban, select government employees can still access ChatGPT and Claude. However, they can only do so through a custom platform built by Stockholm firm Intric. That local system runs entirely on servers inside Sweden, keeping confidential queries safe from foreign cloud providers. Other public bodies like the Swedish Tax Agency have already enforced similar bans. Meanwhile, the debt enforcement agency prepares its own rules.
Sweden is not the only government drawing a hard line against unregulated web tools in public offices. Swedish authorities previously restricted Chinese AI tool DeepSeek over GDPR privacy concerns. The measures match recent bans enacted across United States federal agencies. The European Parliament took an even tougher stance earlier this year by disabling AI features on work devices when it could not guarantee data safety.
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