Joint Statement on New Finnish Social Welfare Laws’ Human Rights Implications

Finland's new social welfare legal reforms pose threats to human rights, including the right to privacy, Privacy International, the European Disability Forum and a Finnish Disability Forum representative, warn in our statement on the matter. Read the full statement here.

We call upon the Finnish government to ensure the full and equal respect of the right to privacy, and of all human rights, for its entire population when it comes to the implementation of digital public infrastructure and to ensure that their national laws are fully consistent with the Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities and all other international human rights treaties to which they are party.

In particular, reformed provisions which increase authorities' and welfare administrators' powers to access client financial data, alongside proposed reforms which would enable at-home techonological monitoring and surveillance of people accessing benefits without their consent, pose notable human rights concerns. We highlight the adverse human rights implications for people with disabilities in particular, but of all people accessing benefits in Finland via the Kela welfare system. 

Privacy International continues to investigate digital public infrastructures’ integrated systems, such as Kela, and advocate for their compliance with human rights. If you would like to discuss this line of work please contact us at: [email protected] with the email subject “Digital Social Welfare – Finland Statement”.