The Swedish Microchipping Phenomenon by Moa Petersn;

of a video news reportage made by the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet covering what was happening at the annual Swedish official politicians’ week in Almedalen in 2017 (Thornéus, 2017). The microchipping in Almedalen was organized by the Swedish state-owned train company Statens Järnvägar (SJ), and the politician is Karin Svensson Smith, then chairman of the government’s traffic committee. The fact that approximately 5,500 Swedes have inserted similar microchips into their hands between 2014 and 2018 has attracted great international attention. The chip is either near field communication (NFC) type or radio frequency identification (RFID) type, and can be used to open doors, print on the work’s printer, work as passenger identification (ticket) on SJ’s train, provided that you are SJ Prio member, and to pass into certain membership clubs, for example, gyms. The chip is inserted with a large needle, and this is usually performed by a piercer or by one of the two Swedish companies who professionalize in operating chip implants into people. The chips themselves are enclosed in a biocompatible glass container that measures 2 × 12 millimeters. The chip was imported from the US biohacking scene to the Swedish equivalent in autumn 2014 by a Swedish entrepreneur who quickly succeeded in marketing the idea of the chip via great interest from Swedish and foreign media. Subcultural biohacker groups doing microchipping can also be found in other countries such as the United States, Austral