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Two or three countries, side by side, one row per question. Pick up to 3.

Countries

LatviaChecked 18 August 2026

Depends on your industryWork: HighEnforcement: Active

In one paragraph: Latvia follows European Union privacy rules, so personal data may leave the country once the right paperwork is in place. But Latvia adds its own walls. Accounting records may not be stored outside the European Union at all. Phone and internet companies must hold call records for eighteen months. Banks need the central bank's blessing before handing systems to an outside supplier.
The catch: The relaxed European headline stops being true the moment you touch four things. (1) Accounting records: paper must stay in Latvia and electronic copies must stay inside the European Union, so a United States accounting or resource-planning cloud is unlawful for a Latvian company. (2) Telecoms: eighteen months of call and connection records, plus a gag on telling the customer. (3) Banking: significant outsourcing needs a filing with the central bank and a thirty-working-day wait. (4) State critical computer systems: the supplier and its owners must be from a NATO, European Union, European Free Trade Association or NATO Indo-Pacific partner country, and audit information may only be handled inside that same group of countries.
Does this apply to me?: Yes. A company with no office in Latvia is still caught if it offers goods or services to people in Latvia or watches what they do online. That reach comes from the European Union privacy regulation, which applies directly in Latvia. There is no size or revenue threshold to duck under. A company based outside Europe normally has to name a contact person inside the European Union. Latvia's own privacy act adds national detail rather than a separate territorial test.High confidence
Can the data leave the country?: Personal data can leave Latvia, but the answer flips depending on what kind of data it is. For ordinary personal data the European rules apply: send it anywhere with the right legal instrument. For accounting records the door is shut at the edge of the European Union — paper stays in Latvia, electronic files stay inside the European Union. Phone and internet companies must keep eighteen months of call records. Banks must clear big outsourcing deals with the central bank first. State critical computer systems can only be supplied and audited from allied countries.High confidence
What do I have to do to send it abroad?: For personal data the model is a permission list, not a ban list. You may send data to a country the European Commission has approved, or use the European Union's standard contract template, or use approved group-wide rules. The approved list is real and long — it includes the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland and, for self-certified companies only, the United States. For accounting records none of this helps: the wall is geographic, and no contract unlocks it.High confidence
Who enforces this — and are they actually working?: The privacy regulator is the State Data Inspectorate, and it is genuinely working, not a name on a door. In 2025 it took 1,034 complaints, ran 1,396 checks, applied corrective measures 62 times and issued fines totalling 326,400 euros (about $355,000), the largest single fine being 300,000 euros (about $327,000). It has about 32 staff. In the first half of 2026 it received 832 complaints and opened 73 checks of its own motion. Separate regulators handle banking, telecoms and cyber security, and all are staffed.High confidence
How long must I keep it, and when must I delete it?: Latvia has an unusually crowded set of minimum keeping periods and one surprising maximum. You must keep accounting registers ten years and supporting documents at least five. Phone and internet companies must keep call records eighteen months. Medical records run from one year to forty years depending on the form. In the other direction, security audit trails must normally be deleted after one year — shorter than many global logging policies allow.High confidence
What happens when something goes wrong?: Count at least two clocks, and often three. If personal data is exposed you have 72 hours to tell the State Data Inspectorate, and you must tell affected people without delay if the risk to them is high. If you run an essential or important service you also have 24 hours to send an early warning to the cyber incident response body, then 72 hours for a first report — and trust service providers get only 24 hours for that first report too. Banks have a third set of reporting duties under European financial rules.High confidence
What's the trap?: Five things that are not in the summary. One: a child can consent from age 13, not 16, so a Latvian teenager can sign up without a parent. Two: mishandling personal data can be a crime, not just a fine, and a company's responsible employee faces up to four years in prison. Three: your accounting system cannot sit outside the European Union, and its entries must be made in Latvian. Four: audit logs must usually be deleted after one year. Five: a bank cannot move systems to a new supplier until it has filed with the central bank and waited thirty working days.High confidence
What's about to change?: Two dated items and three switches. On 12 January 2027 the European Data Act bans cloud providers from charging customers to move their data out — a real change to cloud contracts used in Latvia. On 14 October 2026 Latvia holds its next data protection specialist qualification examination. The switches: the government may still write binding rules on where computer systems are hosted and has not done so; the European Union's approval of United States data transfers is under formal challenge; and the cyber security law is being amended piece by piece.Medium confidence
Hardest industry wall: All industries — Grāmatvedības likums
Government — Ministru kabineta noteikumi Nr. 397 "Minimālās kiberdrošības prasības"

SwedenChecked 18 August 2026

Depends on your industryWork: HighEnforcement: Active

In one paragraph: Sweden has no general law forcing data to stay in the country. Personal data leaves under the ordinary European rules. But four walls override that: gambling systems must sit in Sweden, telecoms records kept for the police may never leave the European Union, classified material needs a state-to-state deal, and accounting books stay in Sweden unless you tell the tax agency.
The catch: The relaxed headline stops being true the moment you touch online gambling, telecoms records held for law enforcement, security-sensitive activity, detailed maps and sea-depth data, a public authority's secret files, or a Swedish company's accounting books. In those six areas Sweden is far stricter than its reputation suggests, and two of them carry prison sentences rather than fines.
Does this apply to me?: Yes. Sweden applies the European privacy rules, so a company anywhere in the world is caught if it offers goods or services to people in Sweden or watches what they do. There is no size or revenue floor to duck under. Sweden's own top-up law adds Swedish-only duties on top, and those apply to anyone processing data under Swedish law, not just Swedish companies. If you are outside Europe and caught, you normally have to name a representative inside Europe.High confidence
Can the data leave the country?: In general, yes. Sweden has no law that says personal data must physically stay in Sweden, and European law actually bans Sweden from imposing storage rules on non-personal data except for national security reasons. The exceptions are what matter. Online gambling systems must be placed in Sweden. Telephone and internet records that operators keep for the police may not be stored outside the European Union. Security-classified material cannot go to a foreign body without a government-to-government agreement. And a Swedish company's accounting records must be kept in Sweden unless it tells the tax agency where they are instead.High confidence
What do I have to do to send it abroad?: Sweden adds nothing of its own here — it uses the European toolkit unchanged. The model is an allowlist of approved destinations, and that list is well populated: the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Japan, South Korea, Canada, Brazil and about a dozen others are approved. For everywhere else you sign the European Commission's standard contract, or use group-wide rules approved by a regulator, and you write down why you think the data will still be safe. United States transfers work only if the receiving company has signed up to the European Union–United States Data Privacy Framework, and that arrangement is under legal pressure.High confidence
Who enforces this — and are they actually working?: The main privacy regulator is the Swedish Authority for Privacy Protection, and it is fully staffed and working. It published supervisory decisions in May, June and July 2026, including a reprimand to a large security company over filming its own staff, and in June 2026 it was also made Sweden's market surveillance authority for the European artificial intelligence rules. Other regulators matter just as much in their own lanes: the financial supervisor, the telecoms and post authority, the gambling authority, the Security Service and the Armed Forces.High confidence
How long must I keep it, and when must I delete it?: Sweden has a hard floor and a soft ceiling, and they pull in opposite directions. You must keep company accounting records for seven years after the end of the year they relate to, and patient records for at least ten years after the last entry. Against that, European privacy law says you must delete personal data once you no longer need it. Sweden resolves the clash the same way most of Europe does: a specific legal duty to keep something beats the general duty to delete it, so you keep it, lock it down and use it for nothing else.High confidence
What happens when something goes wrong?: Count at least three clocks, and they do not agree. For a personal data breach you have 72 hours to tell the privacy regulator, and you must tell the affected people without undue delay if the risk to them is high. Since 15 January 2026, organisations in important sectors must send an early warning to their cybersecurity supervisor within 24 hours of noticing a significant incident, then a fuller report within 72 hours — but trust service providers get only 24 hours for the full report. Financial firms have a fourth clock under the European digital resilience rules. The 24-hour warning is the one that catches people out.High confidence
What's the trap?: Five things that are not in any summary. One: a child can consent from age 13 in Sweden, the youngest age Europe allows, so a global default of 16 is wrong here. Two: you may only use a person's Swedish identity number without their consent when it is clearly justified — a Swedish-only rule with no European equivalent. Three: anything you send to a Swedish public authority can become a public document that any member of the public, including a competitor or a journalist, can demand a copy of. Four: giving a supplier access to a public authority's secret files is allowed only for purely technical processing or storage, and only if it is not inappropriate in the circumstances — the ordinary supplier contract is not enough. Five: mapping and sea-depth data is criminal law, not paperwork — spreading it without a permit can mean up to a year in prison.High confidence
What's about to change?: Two dated items. On 1 January 2027 a new law on the resilience of critical operators is proposed to start, covering eleven sectors and adding another 24-hour incident report. Also on 12 January 2027, European rules make it illegal for cloud providers to charge you to move your data out. Watch the government's national cloud policy, adopted on 28 May 2026: today it is only advice with no penalties, but it is the obvious vehicle for a future rule that public bodies must use European providers.High confidence
Hardest industry wall: Telecoms — Förordning (2022:511) om elektronisk kommunikation, 9 kap. 4 §
Online gaming — Spellagen (2018:1138), 16 kap. 2 §
Defence — Säkerhetsskyddslagen (2018:585) och Säkerhetsskyddsförordningen (2021:955)

The eight framework questions answered for each selected country
Question	LatviaChecked 18 August 2026	SwedenChecked 18 August 2026
The three ratings	Depends on your industry Work: High Enforcement: Active	Depends on your industry Work: High Enforcement: Active
In one paragraph	Latvia follows European Union privacy rules, so personal data may leave the country once the right paperwork is in place. But Latvia adds its own walls. Accounting records may not be stored outside the European Union at all. Phone and internet companies must hold call records for eighteen months. Banks need the central bank's blessing before handing systems to an outside supplier.	Sweden has no general law forcing data to stay in the country. Personal data leaves under the ordinary European rules. But four walls override that: gambling systems must sit in Sweden, telecoms records kept for the police may never leave the European Union, classified material needs a state-to-state deal, and accounting books stay in Sweden unless you tell the tax agency.
The catch	The relaxed European headline stops being true the moment you touch four things. (1) Accounting records: paper must stay in Latvia and electronic copies must stay inside the European Union, so a United States accounting or resource-planning cloud is unlawful for a Latvian company. (2) Telecoms: eighteen months of call and connection records, plus a gag on telling the customer. (3) Banking: significant outsourcing needs a filing with the central bank and a thirty-working-day wait. (4) State critical computer systems: the supplier and its owners must be from a NATO, European Union, European Free Trade Association or NATO Indo-Pacific partner country, and audit information may only be handled inside that same group of countries.	The relaxed headline stops being true the moment you touch online gambling, telecoms records held for law enforcement, security-sensitive activity, detailed maps and sea-depth data, a public authority's secret files, or a Swedish company's accounting books. In those six areas Sweden is far stricter than its reputation suggests, and two of them carry prison sentences rather than fines.
Does this apply to me?	Yes. A company with no office in Latvia is still caught if it offers goods or services to people in Latvia or watches what they do online. That reach comes from the European Union privacy regulation, which applies directly in Latvia. There is no size or revenue threshold to duck under. A company based outside Europe normally has to name a contact person inside the European Union. Latvia's own privacy act adds national detail rather than a separate territorial test.High confidence	Yes. Sweden applies the European privacy rules, so a company anywhere in the world is caught if it offers goods or services to people in Sweden or watches what they do. There is no size or revenue floor to duck under. Sweden's own top-up law adds Swedish-only duties on top, and those apply to anyone processing data under Swedish law, not just Swedish companies. If you are outside Europe and caught, you normally have to name a representative inside Europe.High confidence
Can the data leave the country?	Personal data can leave Latvia, but the answer flips depending on what kind of data it is. For ordinary personal data the European rules apply: send it anywhere with the right legal instrument. For accounting records the door is shut at the edge of the European Union — paper stays in Latvia, electronic files stay inside the European Union. Phone and internet companies must keep eighteen months of call records. Banks must clear big outsourcing deals with the central bank first. State critical computer systems can only be supplied and audited from allied countries.High confidence	In general, yes. Sweden has no law that says personal data must physically stay in Sweden, and European law actually bans Sweden from imposing storage rules on non-personal data except for national security reasons. The exceptions are what matter. Online gambling systems must be placed in Sweden. Telephone and internet records that operators keep for the police may not be stored outside the European Union. Security-classified material cannot go to a foreign body without a government-to-government agreement. And a Swedish company's accounting records must be kept in Sweden unless it tells the tax agency where they are instead.High confidence
What do I have to do to send it abroad?	For personal data the model is a permission list, not a ban list. You may send data to a country the European Commission has approved, or use the European Union's standard contract template, or use approved group-wide rules. The approved list is real and long — it includes the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland and, for self-certified companies only, the United States. For accounting records none of this helps: the wall is geographic, and no contract unlocks it.High confidence	Sweden adds nothing of its own here — it uses the European toolkit unchanged. The model is an allowlist of approved destinations, and that list is well populated: the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Japan, South Korea, Canada, Brazil and about a dozen others are approved. For everywhere else you sign the European Commission's standard contract, or use group-wide rules approved by a regulator, and you write down why you think the data will still be safe. United States transfers work only if the receiving company has signed up to the European Union–United States Data Privacy Framework, and that arrangement is under legal pressure.High confidence
Who enforces this — and are they actually working?	The privacy regulator is the State Data Inspectorate, and it is genuinely working, not a name on a door. In 2025 it took 1,034 complaints, ran 1,396 checks, applied corrective measures 62 times and issued fines totalling 326,400 euros (about $355,000), the largest single fine being 300,000 euros (about $327,000). It has about 32 staff. In the first half of 2026 it received 832 complaints and opened 73 checks of its own motion. Separate regulators handle banking, telecoms and cyber security, and all are staffed.High confidence	The main privacy regulator is the Swedish Authority for Privacy Protection, and it is fully staffed and working. It published supervisory decisions in May, June and July 2026, including a reprimand to a large security company over filming its own staff, and in June 2026 it was also made Sweden's market surveillance authority for the European artificial intelligence rules. Other regulators matter just as much in their own lanes: the financial supervisor, the telecoms and post authority, the gambling authority, the Security Service and the Armed Forces.High confidence
How long must I keep it, and when must I delete it?	Latvia has an unusually crowded set of minimum keeping periods and one surprising maximum. You must keep accounting registers ten years and supporting documents at least five. Phone and internet companies must keep call records eighteen months. Medical records run from one year to forty years depending on the form. In the other direction, security audit trails must normally be deleted after one year — shorter than many global logging policies allow.High confidence	Sweden has a hard floor and a soft ceiling, and they pull in opposite directions. You must keep company accounting records for seven years after the end of the year they relate to, and patient records for at least ten years after the last entry. Against that, European privacy law says you must delete personal data once you no longer need it. Sweden resolves the clash the same way most of Europe does: a specific legal duty to keep something beats the general duty to delete it, so you keep it, lock it down and use it for nothing else.High confidence
What happens when something goes wrong?	Count at least two clocks, and often three. If personal data is exposed you have 72 hours to tell the State Data Inspectorate, and you must tell affected people without delay if the risk to them is high. If you run an essential or important service you also have 24 hours to send an early warning to the cyber incident response body, then 72 hours for a first report — and trust service providers get only 24 hours for that first report too. Banks have a third set of reporting duties under European financial rules.High confidence	Count at least three clocks, and they do not agree. For a personal data breach you have 72 hours to tell the privacy regulator, and you must tell the affected people without undue delay if the risk to them is high. Since 15 January 2026, organisations in important sectors must send an early warning to their cybersecurity supervisor within 24 hours of noticing a significant incident, then a fuller report within 72 hours — but trust service providers get only 24 hours for the full report. Financial firms have a fourth clock under the European digital resilience rules. The 24-hour warning is the one that catches people out.High confidence
What's the trap?	Five things that are not in the summary. One: a child can consent from age 13, not 16, so a Latvian teenager can sign up without a parent. Two: mishandling personal data can be a crime, not just a fine, and a company's responsible employee faces up to four years in prison. Three: your accounting system cannot sit outside the European Union, and its entries must be made in Latvian. Four: audit logs must usually be deleted after one year. Five: a bank cannot move systems to a new supplier until it has filed with the central bank and waited thirty working days.High confidence	Five things that are not in any summary. One: a child can consent from age 13 in Sweden, the youngest age Europe allows, so a global default of 16 is wrong here. Two: you may only use a person's Swedish identity number without their consent when it is clearly justified — a Swedish-only rule with no European equivalent. Three: anything you send to a Swedish public authority can become a public document that any member of the public, including a competitor or a journalist, can demand a copy of. Four: giving a supplier access to a public authority's secret files is allowed only for purely technical processing or storage, and only if it is not inappropriate in the circumstances — the ordinary supplier contract is not enough. Five: mapping and sea-depth data is criminal law, not paperwork — spreading it without a permit can mean up to a year in prison.High confidence
What's about to change?	Two dated items and three switches. On 12 January 2027 the European Data Act bans cloud providers from charging customers to move their data out — a real change to cloud contracts used in Latvia. On 14 October 2026 Latvia holds its next data protection specialist qualification examination. The switches: the government may still write binding rules on where computer systems are hosted and has not done so; the European Union's approval of United States data transfers is under formal challenge; and the cyber security law is being amended piece by piece.Medium confidence	Two dated items. On 1 January 2027 a new law on the resilience of critical operators is proposed to start, covering eleven sectors and adding another 24-hour incident report. Also on 12 January 2027, European rules make it illegal for cloud providers to charge you to move your data out. Watch the government's national cloud policy, adopted on 28 May 2026: today it is only advice with no penalties, but it is the obvious vehicle for a future rule that public bodies must use European providers.High confidence
Hardest industry wall	All industries — Grāmatvedības likums Government — Ministru kabineta noteikumi Nr. 397 "Minimālās kiberdrošības prasības"	Telecoms — Förordning (2022:511) om elektronisk kommunikation, 9 kap. 4 § Online gaming — Spellagen (2018:1138), 16 kap. 2 § Defence — Säkerhetsskyddslagen (2018:585) och Säkerhetsskyddsförordningen (2021:955)