Other European nations are expected to introduce similar legislation in response to concerns of terrorist activity. Secretary-general of the Swedish Bar Association Anne Ramberg is in favor of changing to the law in Swedish and European courts. "This would have been totally unthinkable before Sept. 11," she told the Associated Press.

The Swedish Parliamentary Committee on Defense approved the bill in June with the suggestion that more safeguards were needed, including additional details on what data can be accessed, how it should be destroyed and who can access it. The revised bill passed June 18 will be implemented in early 2009.

While supporters say the law will keep tabs on suspicious communications and financial transfers to help avert terrorist activity, opponents say the measures are too intrusive and infringe on civil liberties.

Last year, before the bill was passed, Finland's TeliaSonera (teliasonera.com) moved e-mail servers and 500,000 accounts from Sweden to Finland. Finalized in April this year, TeliaSonera communications manager Ahti Martikainen said the Finnish government made "very strong recommendations" to make the move.

Since it requires carriers to spend an expected $12.5 million, excluding maintenance costs, according to the Swedish Department of Defense, carriers are generally against the bill.

TeliaSonera and Google Inc. (google.com) have called the law the most extensive eavesdropping plan in Europe, comparing it to surveillance powers authorized in the US.