Freedom of opinion for porn

With the support of his union, a petrol station employee in the northern Swedish town of Piteå has been successful in refusing to work in a location where pornographic magazines are sold. Since then, local politicians and press have worked to make the entire town a porn-free zone. A dangerous trend, writes the Göteborgs-Posten: "Certainly, no one is obliged to approve of the image of women in erotic magazines ... or their even less tasteful cousins. But disdain for certain magazines is one thing, and preventing people from buying these magazines with threats, censorship and by massively influencing opinion is another. Even trashy literature is protected by the freedom of expression. But when the unions, politicians and press of a small town unite against it, tolerance is restricted. Piteå-Tidningen newspaper writes in its leading article that those in power are entitled to use their positions provided it is not to further their own interests. So the end justifies the means. That is an alarming stance to take on democracy and the rule of law."

» full article (external link, Swedish)
More from the press review on the subject » Public Culture, » Media policy, » Sweden