"A "discriminatory" artificial intelligence (AI) model used by Sweden's social security agency to flag people for benefit fraud investigations has been suspended, following an intervention by the country's Data Protection Authority (IMY). Starting in June 2025, IMY's involvement was prompted after a joint investigation from Lighthouse Reports and Svenska Dagbladet (SvB) revealed in November 2024 that a machine learning (ML) system being used by Försäkringskassan, Sweden's Social Insurance Agency was disproportionally and wrongly flagging certain groups for further investigation over social benefits fraud."
"This included women, individuals with "foreign" backgrounds, low-income earners and people without university degrees. The media outlets also found the same system was largely ineffective at identifying men and rich people that actually had committed some kind of social security fraud. These findings prompted Amnesty International to publicly call for the system's immediate discontinuation in November 2024, which it described at the time as "dehumanising" and "akin to a witch hunt"."
"According to a blog published by IMY on 18 November 2025, Försäkringskassan was specifically using the system to conduct targeted checks on recipients of temporary child support benefits - which are designed to compensate parents for taking time off work when they have to care for their sick children - but took it out of use over the course of the Authorities investigation."
Sweden's Social Insurance Agency, Försäkringskassan, suspended an AI-based risk-scoring system after intervention from the Data Protection Authority (IMY). The machine learning model, introduced in 2013, had been used to assign risk scores that automatically triggered fraud investigations. A joint investigation by Lighthouse Reports and Svenska Dagbladet found the system disproportionately flagged women, people with "foreign" backgrounds, low-income earners and those without university degrees, while missing men and wealthy individuals who committed fraud. Amnesty International called for immediate discontinuation, describing the system as dehumanising. IMY's inspection prompted Försäkringskassan to remove the system from use, particularly in checks on temporary child support beneficiaries.
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