Freedom of the Press/History/Country sources/Sweden

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What is the oldest written source in this country that mentions this right?

Sweden

Sweden was the first nation to formally protect freedom of the press through the 1766 Freedom of the Press Act: “The freedom of the press is understood to mean the right of every Swedish citizen to publish written matter, without prior hindrance by a public authority or other public body, and not to be prosecuted thereafter on grounds of its content other than before a lawful court, or punished therefor other than because the content contravenes an express provision of law, enacted to preserve public order without suppressing information to the public" (Hirschfeldt 2017, p. 580).

The Freedom of the Press Act is still included in Sweden’s 1974 Constitution, and Article 1 of Chapter 2 extends further protections for press freedom across “sound radio, television and certain similar transmissions, as well as in films, video recordings, sound recordings and other technical recordings" (Constitute Project, “Sweden’s Constitution of 1974 with Amendments through 2012” ).