FinlandLaki verkon välityspalvelujen valvonnasta (Act on the Supervision of Online Intermediary Services), Digital Services Act Supervision and Penalty Payments
Act on the Supervision of Online Intermediary Services (Laki verkon välityspalvelujen valvonnasta 18/2024) Sections 1 to 4, 13 to 16, 18 and 31
In force since .
A transparency and process rule binding public and private bodies.
- Obligation class
- Disclosure, Reporting
As of .
What it requires
- Hand the competent authorities the information, clarifications and documents they need about a suspected breach of the Digital Services Act or this Act without undue delay, in the form they ask for, and free of charge.
- Meet the duties of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 that Sections 14 to 17 make subject to a penalty payment: for every provider of an intermediary service, the single point of contact for authorities, the electronic point of contact for recipients and the legal representative (Articles 11 to 13); for a hosting service, the notice procedure, confirmation of receipt, notice of the decision, the statement of reasons and the report to the police (Articles 16 to 18); for an online platform, the internal complaint-handling system, priority for trusted flaggers, advertising transparency, recommender system parameters and the protection of minors (Articles 20, 22, 24(3) and 26 to 28).
- Carry out a supervision decision or other order of the competent authority, because the authority may enforce it with a daily conditional fine.
If you get it wrong
Penalty structure
Section 18 caps the penalty payment at 6 percent of the provider's annual worldwide turnover in the financial year before the decision. Section 13 allows a conditional fine, running per day, of up to 5 percent of average daily worldwide turnover or income for each day of delay in meeting a decision or order.
- Rule
- Turnover pct only
- As of
- Turnover percentage cap
- 6
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
Finnish Transport and Communications Agency (Traficom), the digital services coordinator and the general competent authority; the Consumer Ombudsman for Articles 25, 26(1)(a) to (c) for consumer advertising, 26(2), 30(7) and 32; the National Audit Office for ideological and societal advertising under Article 26(1)(a) to (c); the Data Protection Ombudsman for Articles 26(1)(d), 26(3), 27 and 28.
What this law does
Section 1 makes the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency (Liikenne- ja viestintävirasto, Traficom) the digital services coordinator under Article 49 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 and the competent authority for its supervision, except as Sections 2, 2 a and 3 provide.
Section 2 makes the Consumer Ombudsman the competent authority for Article 25 where an online platform serves a consumer, Article 26(1)(a) to (c) for advertising from a trader to a consumer, Article 26(2), Article 30(7) and Article 32 of the Regulation. Section 2 a makes the National Audit Office the competent authority for Article 26(1)(a) to (c) where the advertising is ideological or societal.
Section 3 makes the Data Protection Ombudsman the competent authority for Article 26(1)(d), Article 26(3), and Articles 27 and 28 of the Regulation. Section 4 gives the competent authorities the right, despite secrecy provisions, to obtain the information, clarifications and documents they need from a provider of an intermediary service about a suspected breach.
Section 4 requires the provider to hand the information over without undue delay, in the form the authority requests, and free of charge. Section 13 lets the competent authority attach a conditional fine to a supervision decision or other order, which for a provider runs per day and may not exceed 5 percent of the provider's average daily worldwide turnover or income in the financial year before the decision.
Section 14 lets Traficom impose a penalty payment on a provider of an intermediary service that intentionally or negligently breaches the duty in Article 11 of the Regulation to designate a single point of contact for authorities, the duty in Article 12 to designate an electronic point of contact for recipients, or the duties in Article 13 to name a legal representative.
Section 15 lets Traficom impose a penalty payment on a hosting service provider that intentionally or negligently breaches the duty in Article 16 of the Regulation to run a notice procedure for illegal content, to confirm receipt of a notice and to tell the notifier of its decision, the duty in Article 17 to give users a statement of reasons for restricting their content, or the duty in Article 18 to notify the police.
Section 16 lets Traficom impose a penalty payment on an online platform provider that intentionally or negligently breaches the duty in Article 20 of the Regulation to give recipients access to an internal complaint-handling system, and the further duties of online platforms that its points 2 to 6 list, including Articles 22, 24(3), 26, 27 and 28.
Section 18 caps a penalty payment on a provider of an intermediary service at 6 percent of its annual worldwide turnover in the financial year before the decision. The Act entered into force on .
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app operates a social platform.