Sweden Blocks ChatGPT and Claude for Government Staff, Keeps Microsoft Copilot

TLDR

• Sweden’s Government Offices will block ChatGPT and Claude on staff computers from Monday, Oct. 26.
• Microsoft Copilot stays as the only approved AI tool after a security review.
• Officials say AI use without a formal contract can put information security at risk.
• The Tax Agency and the National Board of Institutional Care already have similar bans.
• The Government Offices has not said whether Claude is switched on inside its Copilot setup.

---

Sweden’s Government Offices will block ChatGPT and Claude on staff computers starting Monday, Oct. 26. Microsoft will remain the only approved AI provider through its Copilot tool.

BREAKING: Sweden’s government to block ChatGPT and Claude on staff computers

— Kalshi (@Kalshi) October 25, 2026

The Government Offices is the administrative body that supports the prime minister and cabinet. Swedish public radio broadcaster Sveriges Radio reported the decision.

Mikael Wettercrantz, the director of digitalisation, posted the news on the staff intranet. He wrote that using AI services without a formal contract can have “consequences for our information security.”

Why the Government Offices Made the Move

Wettercrantz said officials have seen several examples of problematic use of open AI services. The cases involved both the sensitivity of the information entered and how AI responses were handled.

Consumer AI tools without formal agreements send user queries to servers owned by outside companies. U.S. law allows authorities to require those companies to hand over data.

A formal security agreement sets out what a provider can and cannot do with employee inputs. That is the main difference between an enterprise contract and an open consumer tool.

Copilot stayed because the Government Offices reviewed it and raised its security settings. The agency did not take the same steps for ChatGPT or Claude.

Some employees can still use both blocked tools through an AI platform the agency built itself. The press office has not said how many people have that access or what limits apply.

Other Swedish Agencies and European Bodies

The Swedish Tax Agency and the National Board of Institutional Care have already put similar bans on consumer AI tools. Reports differ on which agency is next, with one naming the Enforcement Authority and another naming the Police Authority.

An internal audit at the Swedish Transport Administration found about 10 AI services in use. The audit described the use as “widespread and risky.”

The European Parliament went further in February. It disabled AI features on all its work devices, including ChatGPT, Claude and Copilot, after saying it could not guarantee data security.

European government concerns about AI data security have built since Italy banned ChatGPT in 2023. Sweden’s approach is narrower, approving one U.S. company’s product while blocking two others.

Microsoft added Claude models to Copilot in early 2026. In the EU, Anthropic’s models are off by default and administrators must turn them on.

The Government Offices has not confirmed whether Claude is switched on in its Copilot setup. That leaves unclear how separate the banned and approved tools are.