FinlandGDPR Article 9 and Data Protection Act Section 6, Special Categories in Finland
Regulation (EU) 2016/679, Art. 9; Tietosuojalaki 1050/2018 sec. 6
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What follows is LexLint's own research summary of this law, not legal advice.
In force since 1 January 2019.
A sensitive categories rule binding public and private bodies.
As of 24 August 2026.
What it requires
- Ground the processing of any biometric identifier of a person in Finland, including a faceprint or voiceprint captured for unique identification, on a General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Article 9(2) condition such as explicit consent, unless it falls within one of the eight contexts Data Protection Act Section 6 lists, none of which is biometric-specific.
What it reaches
Excludes recording-derived identifiersNo
What this law does
Drafted with AI from the cited sources under the direction of UnGovr staff. UnGovr holds editorial responsibility for this page.
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Article 9(1) classifies biometric data processed for unique identification as a special category.
Data Protection Act Section 6, read in full, lifts the Article 9(1) bar in eight named contexts (insurance claims, statutory duty, trade union membership for employment law, healthcare and social welfare delivery, anti-doping and disability sports, and research, statistics or archiving); none of the eight names biometric data, and the section carries no illustrative list or enumeration of biometric identifier types.
Biometric data processed for unique identification is therefore governed directly by GDPR Article 9 itself, with no Finland-specific narrowing or widening of the definition found.
When LexLint raises it
processes_biometricsprocesses_voice
Read the law
Ministry of Justice, Finland, official English translation, Data Protection Act Section 6
Every line above is drawn from the primary source linked here, read on the date shown. This is a research summary, not legal advice.