Act on Electronic Communications Services, section 211 as rewritten in 2021, with Government Decree 1245/2014 on audiovisual services, subtitling and audio subtitling of television and on-demand programmes

Section 211 requires Finnish- or Swedish-language television programmes and the programme offerings of on-demand programme services to carry subtitling, and other programmes narration or a service that turns the text of a subtitled programme into speech, called an audio and subtitling service. Section 211 requires the audio and subtitling service to be attached to the public service television programmes of Yleisradio Oy and to the programme offerings available in an on-demand programme service.

Section 211 also requires it to be attached to television programme services broadcast under a national programme licence that serve several audience groups, to public interest television programme services and to their on-demand programme services. Section 211 does not require the service to be attached to live music performances or to sports programmes. Section 211 requires the subtitling service to be of good quality so that the subtitles are clear and understandable to the user.

Section 211 caps the cost of the service for television operators other than public service operators at one percent of the operator's turnover of the previous financial year. Section 211 sets the share of programmes with the service at 75 percent for the public interest and multi-audience television programme services and 100 percent for the public service programme services.

Section 211 sets the share at 30 percent of the programmes in the on-demand programme services within the second paragraph. Section 211 requires an audiovisual content service provider to report to Traficom on its measures to make its services accessible and to give Traficom accessibility action plans on how its services are made accessible continuously and step by step.

Section 211 lets a Government decree provide for the technical implementation and transmission of the audio and subtitling service, requires a Government decree to set the cost of the service per programme hour and to specify what counts as a programme service serving several audience groups, and has the Ministry of Transport and Communications designate by decision the programme services serving several audience groups to which the service must be attached.

Section 211 sits in chapter 25 of the Act, on the content of television broadcasts and on-demand programme services. Government Decree 1245/2014 on audiovisual services, whose title Decree 948/2020 changed from 1 January 2021, carries the rules made under section 211.

Section 7 of the Decree counts the programme hours of the subtitling service by the Finnish- and Swedish-language programmes, and those of the audio service by the other programmes, leaving out live music performances and live sports programmes in both. Section 7 of the Decree lets one third of the programme hours of the audio and subtitling service be provided in the television operator's on-demand programme service.

Section 8 of the Decree treats a programme service broadcast under a national programme licence as serving several audience groups if it can be received free of charge and nationwide, carries Finnish- or Swedish-language programmes daily, and has a significant annual viewing share and average daily reach. Section 9 of the Decree sets the reference cost per programme hour at EUR 70 for adding audio and EUR 440 for adding subtitles to Finnish- and Swedish-language programmes.

Section 10 of the Decree requires a television operator whose costs of the service would exceed one percent of its turnover of the previous financial year to attach the service to as large a share of programmes as it can without exceeding that limit. Section 12 of the Decree lets the subtitles of live regional news be supplied with a rerun broadcast at an appropriate time within a day of the live broadcast and, once ready, in the on-demand programme service as soon as possible.

Section 13 of the Decree requires the audio service to be attached to all translation-subtitled programmes in the public service programme services, other than live music performances and live sports programmes. The Decree entered into force on 1 January 2015, and Decrees 2/2017, 396/2018, 371/2020, 948/2020 and 137/2021 later amended its sections on the audio and subtitling service. Act 1207/2020 brought section 211 into force on 1 January 2021.

Act 1207/2020 was made at Helsinki on 30 December 2020. Section 330 lets Traficom give a remark to a person who breaches the Act and oblige that person to correct the failure within a reasonable time. Section 332 lets that obligation be backed by a conditional fine or by the threat that the activity is discontinued or the omitted measure is carried out at the defaulter's cost.

Section 334 lets a penalty payment be imposed on a television or radio operator that acts contrary to chapters 25 and 26 and does not correct its conduct within the time set by the supervisory authority after a request. Section 3, paragraph 26, defines television operations as the original and simultaneous transmission to the public of programme services made up of audiovisual programmes on a set programme schedule.

The penalty payment is at least EUR 1,000 and at most EUR 1,000,000, that amount may be exceeded where the act or omission has very significant effects on the objectives of chapters 25 and 26, and the payment may, however, be at most five percent of the operator's turnover of the previous year from licensed activity. The Market Court imposes the penalty payment on the proposal of Traficom, or in cases under section 214 on the proposal of the Consumer Ombudsman.