Aerial images taken with, for example, drones must be reviewed by law before they are disseminated.
Distribution permission is given by the Land Survey.
The reason is that objects that relate to total defense and are protected may not be disclosed.
As more and more drones are used, the volume of cases has increased significantly.
- When we took over this task in 2016, we had 700 cases.
In 2021, they were 23,000 and the forecast for this year is 30,000, says Anders Sandin, business area manager Geodata at the Land Survey.
Missing money
In June, the authority announced that the waiting time for processing applications was 19 working days.
Since then, the processing time has increased to 55 days.
The reason is that in the last five years the Land Survey tried to catch up with more and more cases, but did not receive enough money from the government to complete the task, according to Sandin:
- This summer, we have reduced the number of people who are holding distribution permits.
That's because we have a certain number of millions allocated to that task.
We have had to solve it by reprioritizing internally with both finances, financing and personnel, but now they need to focus on other tasks.
Can ignore applying
The consequences can be fatal, he believes.
Small individual companies that depend on the processing taking place within the 5 working days that are set as the normal processing time by the authority can then miss out on assignments and thus suffer financially.
There is also a risk that people simply neglect to apply for a permit.
- After all, it is the ban on depictions when it comes to protected objects that is important to deal with.
Then it can result in images being spread that can mean damage to society at large and above all to the total defence, says Anders Sandin.
Hear more about the consequences of the long waiting times in the video.