This does not apply to medical research but to the social sciences and the humanities, says Lotta Edholm (L), Minister for Upper Secondary Education, Higher Education and Research.
Ethical review of research is done to protect the individual and respect for human dignity. But Edholm believes that in some cases it backfires.
One example she points to is that political scientists need ethics approval to conduct research on the opinions of parliamentarians, even though those opinions are openly expressed in newspaper articles, on social media and in parliament. Another is that ethics approval is required even when participants have given their consent.
“Is too regulated”
It is still very, very important to ensure people's privacy in the future, but today it is simply too regulated, says Lotta Edholm.
The exceptions the government proposes in a referral to the Council on Legislation would apply to research where the risk of privacy breaches is low:
Whether participants in a study have provided informed consent; whether the data included in the research is already widely disseminated; and whether the data comes from judgments or government decisions.
“Unnecessary pressure”
The government also wants to remove the mandatory requirement for the Ethics Review Board to file a complaint in the event of any reasonable suspicion of a crime.
This requirement, says Lotta Edholm, has exposed researchers to unnecessary pressure and has created unnecessary work within the legal system.
But an assessment still needs to be made, of course.
The legislative amendments are proposed to enter into force on July 1, 2027.
