Finland – Data

1. The State Obligation to Protect Human Rights

1.3 Activities in the EU [page 14]

Finland is involved in international work in UN decision-making bodies related to communication technologies (such as WSIS and the World Summit on the Information Society) as well as in other central international organisations (such as the Internet Governance Forum, IGF). The objective of Finland is to reinforce the administrative system of an open and inclusive network so that freedom of speech is ensured in the development of the international information society.

2. The State and Companies

2.2 The State and the protection of privacy [page 23]

The protection of privacy that is particularly related to electronic communications has received plenty of attention in recent public discussion. The right to privacy, the protection of personal data and the protection of confidential messages are fundamental human rights. The extent of data collection related to electronic communications has led to public discussion. Privacy questions related to electronic communications are particularly important in Finland, where the ICT infrastructure enjoys a strong position. This strength has played a significant role in the fact that Finland has been able to attract international ICT investments.

As a follow-up measure, the working group proposes that:

• a roundtable discussion be organised on how to ensure the protection of privacy in Finland with the authorities, ICT companies and the civil society. Principal responsible party: Ministry of Transport and Communications, autumn 2014.