Suomen valtio pelleilee henkilötietojen kanssa. The Finnish government is clowning around with personal data.
@ 7:57 am 
(picture from Wikipedia, slightly modified. Thank Krusty!)
Sorry to repeat my post. I wanted to get this out in Finnish as well.
The Finnish government sells your personal data to companies and the press to be published, sold, put in magazines and sold as SMS services. The data ends up in the Internet in the torrent trackers. And they give you no right to do anything about it. If you want to do something about it, file a complaint to the European Commission. They take these complaints seriously. And they don’t bite. 
Suomen valtio (verotoimisto) myy henkilötietojasi yrityksille ja lehdistölle julkaistavaksi ja myytäväksi lehdissä ja mobiilipalveluina. Henkilötieto päättyy Internet:iin torrent-trakereille. Ja he eivät anna sulle mitään oikeutta tehdä jotain asiasta. (vrk.fi ja ake.fi antavat tietojen luovutuskieltooikeuden, esm.) Jos et pidä tästä, tee valitus Euroopan Kommissiolle. He ottavat nämä valitukset vakavasti. Ja he eivät pure.
Link to the complaint form and instructions. Linkki valitus lomakkeelle ja ohjeille.
http://ec.europa.eu/community_law/your_rights/your_rights_forms_en.htm
DIRECTIVE 95/46/EC.
The main problems are: Pääongelmat on:
1. No permission is asked. Ei ole pyydetty lupaa.
2. No right to object. (AKE.fi and VRK.fi each give the right to object, which they state is part of this law.) Ei ole tietojen luovutuskieltooikeutta. (Ake.fi ja VRK.fi antavat kieltokoikeuden, ja he sanovat että se oikeus tulee tästä direkiivista. )
3. Wholesaling of personal data. (against the guidance of the Article 29 Working Group, which is part of the EC) Henkilötietojen tukkumyyntiä. (se on vastion Artikla 29 Työryhmän opastusta. He ovat osaa Euroopan Kommissiota, ryhmä joka suojelee henkilötietoa.)
4. Privacy is not respected. Ykstyisyyttä ei kunnioiteta.
5. No safeguards. The data ends up in the Internet, accessible to anyone in the world. Ei ole turvatoimeja. Tieto päättyy Internetiin, saatavana kenelle vain maailmassa.
6. Free movement of people between borders of member states. Do you want to move to another EU country and loose one of your human rights, that of privacy? Ihmisten vapaa liikkuvuus jäsenmaiden välissä. Haluatko muuttaa toiseen EU maahaan ja menettää yhden ihmisoikeuksistasi, oikeus yksityisyyteen.
The right to privacy and freedom from arbitrary interference with one’s private and family life is part of the list of basic human rights. Oikeus yksityisyyteen ja oikeus olla vapaa yksityis- ja perheelämän häiritsemisestä on yksi perusihmisoikeuksista ihmisoikeuslistalla.
The right to protection of personal data is part of the basic list of rights for the EU. Henkilötietojen suoja on yksi perusoikeus kaikille Euroopan Unionissa.
Verosirkus. E-mail the contact address there if you want free help in Finnish or English. Kontakti osoitteelta saat ilmaista apua Englanniksi tai Suomeksi.
phil, i want your cock in me
Comment by horny — Fri, Nov 2nd, 2007 @ 10:05 am
I want posts that are formatted better instead of finnish and english mixed up together
Comment by Reko — Fri, Nov 2nd, 2007 @ 10:17 am
Thanks for the info, Sirkuspelle. The Finnish part will be very helpful to many. Finland’s lack of data privacy is disgraceful and insulting to people who move to Finland on work assignments. How are we supposed to know beforehand, that this kind of shit goes on here? I believe it clearly goes against EU laws.
You should also talk about the use of tax information for speeding tickets. Do the police have the right to see your income information? I think not. At least not in a modern society.
Comment by pissed off Finnish resident — Fri, Nov 2nd, 2007 @ 2:36 pm
Did you people know that even if the EU stops Finland from publishing your personal information in newspapers, then it might still be possible for anyone to get your data from the tax office?
If anyone can get your personal financial data, then it can easily be placed on web servers around the world. Perhaps in a place like Nigeria or Somalia. Maybe a Finnish company won’t profit from your data, but someone in another country will.
Comment by Anonymous — Fri, Nov 2nd, 2007 @ 3:28 pm
Haluan tietää naapurien tulot
Comment by Kateellinen — Fri, Nov 2nd, 2007 @ 8:30 pm
The Finnish government with its data privacy violations is among the most corrupt in Europe.
Brainwashing begins at birth in Finland. Everything Suomi does is A-OK. Nothing wrong. All is right. People don’t question authority.
Police want to see your income? No problem. Everything A-OK with that in Finland. It’s normal and accepted for the brainwashed Fin.
Comment by on tosi kylmä täälä — Fri, Nov 2nd, 2007 @ 9:15 pm
Maybe I’m brainwashed, but reading about other peoples’ income is interesting. I don’t mind sharing my own in return.
Comment by Anonymous Coward — Sat, Nov 3rd, 2007 @ 2:01 am
One of the nice things that public income information has now revealed is the fact that the nice union leaders pushing for nurse’s strike (sorry, mass-quittings) are apparently making LOADS compared to the people whose cause they are supposedly driving - and haven’t quit their jobs.
Comment by Zarr — Sat, Nov 3rd, 2007 @ 11:31 am
Having published info was used here in Pennsylvania so years ago. The teachers Union sent their teachers out on strike for more pay.
So the local paper, used time in service, (give out by the Union) and a pay chart (given out by the Gov), to figure out each teachers salery, and published it.
Result… Drum roll on open source data….
Yes, the population did not buy that the high saleries needed to go higher. Strike was over.
Comment by winter “Yea, Proton Power, now in remission†— Sat, Nov 3rd, 2007 @ 2:26 pm
I forgot to add, and that was all before Al Gore invented the internet, and the local paper had no affiliation with the BBC (or you would not see such data).
Comment by winter “Yea, Proton Power, now in remission†— Sat, Nov 3rd, 2007 @ 2:29 pm
Concerning salary information for public officials and employees, it SHOULD be public knowledge because we all pay for it.
But, what SHOULDN’T be public is their personal finances or income received from other sources - investments, side jobs, etc. Clearly, that’s private information.
Furthermore, tax record information DOESN’T give a true picture of what a person earns at his job, That’s because all ‘earned’ income is aggregated under the heading ‘ansiotulo’; you can’t distinguish between job income and side income.
So, people who think open tax records enables them to spy on their co-workers’ salaries have a very immature understanding of how things actually work.
I agree that the Finnish tax record system needs to stop. As Sirkuspelle indicates, there are legal, moral and practical reasons. This type of human rights violation doesn’t belong in modern society. It especially does not belong in the EU.
Comment by verotietojen julkistaminen on paska — Sat, Nov 3rd, 2007 @ 4:27 pm
“But, what SHOULDN’T be public is their personal finances or income received from other sources - investments, side jobs, etc. Clearly, that’s private information.”
So the salaries of MPs should be public but the kickbacks they receive from lobbyists should not. Priceless.
Comment by Freeridin' Franklin — Sat, Nov 3rd, 2007 @ 5:02 pm
Would those “kickbacks” be reported on their tax returns?
Comment by verotietojen julkistaminen on paska — Sat, Nov 3rd, 2007 @ 5:16 pm
@11: One Romanian told me that public officials have their salaries and wealth made public. They sign a letter of consent before assuming office. This is an effort to reduce corruption.
I think this is OK because:
1. They sign a letter of consent before assuming office. They have a choice to keep their privacy if they want.
2. They are public officials, with salaries paid by tax money. They should serve the public and not take money from them.
In Finland, there is no consent, no choice, no right to object, etc. And the purpose of it is tabloid entertainment.
Comment by sirkuspelle — Sat, Nov 3rd, 2007 @ 9:50 pm
LOL
Comment by Anonymous — Sat, Nov 3rd, 2007 @ 9:55 pm
Sirkuspelle,
I agree with your underlying premise, that salaries of public officials are different from ordinary people. However, making salaries and wealth of politicians public is probably a disincentive for good people to run for public office. After all, even if a person is totally honest in his business activities, Who wants their private information made public?
Of course, that question is mute in “brainwashed” Finland. But in the rest of the world, it probably would affect who goes into politics and who doesn’t.
My point: Politicians can have their accounts audited by independent accounting firms, who are trained to spot ‘conflicts of interest’—and they are held responsible for their opinions.
There is no reason for the normal public to know about politicians’ personal information. It would only mean that
people who can effectively hide their wealth decide to run for office — and there are plenty of legitimate reasons to keep one’s financial information private.
You have a nice website, Sirkuspelle. I agree with your direction. Finland needs to change, if it wants to be taken seriously regarding international affairs. In my opinion, this system doesn’t belong in a modern country.
Comment by nate the expat — Sun, Nov 4th, 2007 @ 1:24 am
“My point: Politicians can have their accounts audited by independent accounting firms, who are trained to spot ‘conflicts of interest’”
Yeah sure, we know exactly how good those “independent” accounting firms are. Two words: Enron. Subprime.
Comment by Freeridin' Franklin — Mon, Nov 5th, 2007 @ 12:26 am
“Yeah sure, we know exactly how good those “independent†accounting firms are.”
You can do it better by snooping his tax return? Yeah, right.
Comment by Anonymous — Mon, Nov 5th, 2007 @ 2:14 am
@9: A lot of the Finnish salaries can be calculated by using a look-up chart. This is another reason that listing actual salaries by name and municipality is useless, especially considering that the Finnish tax authority sells that information with no right to object given to the data subject.
Comment by Sirkuspelle — Mon, Nov 5th, 2007 @ 8:21 am
I’ve never seen this as a problem, mainly because I don’t really remember that I who I know would have bought Veropörssi or any other the like. Nor have I ever eally heard anyone in Finland talking about income information based on reading it from a tabloid. Maybe about celebrities, but never about ordinary people. So don’t really see what all this fuss is about. Still wouldn’t mind if they made this information not public.
What comes to Police having the information I really don’t mind. They only use it if needed, not out of curiosity. And I quite like the system on speedin tickets. It prevents people buying of their crimes. No matter how rich you’re, getting the ticket still hurts. And even if you are very poor, it won’t make you hungry for months.
Comment by Anni — Tue, Nov 6th, 2007 @ 12:36 am
And what I also find a bit funny, is the way I hear Americans and Brits talk about salaries with their friends. People in Finland (and i most certainly do) would find it very insulting. I’ve never asked anyone how much they make money yearly. But I’ve heard many Americans to ask the question. Few people have even asked me, how much my parents make a year. And I have no idea. Neither do I know what my boyfriend earns (I of course have an idea, but I’ve never asked the excact amount). I wouldn’t even consider asking my friends, or work mates.
Comment by Anni — Tue, Nov 6th, 2007 @ 12:42 am
It prevents people buying of their crimes. No matter how rich you’re, getting the ticket still hurts.
Yes, and if you’re 19 and jobless, you can speed all you want. Maybe dad, who earns 100K, will even pay the bill. After all, you were driving his sports car when you were ticketed.
Also, it’s not a bad deal if you own a business. Just put the income in your wife’s name. Then you can speed no matter how much you earn. No worries.
Meanwhile, everyone’s privacy rights get violated.
Comment by Anonymous — Tue, Nov 6th, 2007 @ 3:15 am
So then the option is the rich would be speeding? The only thing that gets violated is the sales of Ferraris.
Comment by Hank W. — Tue, Nov 6th, 2007 @ 10:57 am
“So then the option is the rich would be speeding?”
Only in Finland
Comment by Kristian — Tue, Nov 6th, 2007 @ 3:11 pm