FINLAND

Expert assessments: Sanctions

It is factually correct under Finnish media law that upon Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority’s (FICORA) proposal, a separate Market Court may impose fines on media outlets totalling up to EUR 1 million.83 But in practice FICORA seldom imposes fines on media outlets and the maximum fine has never been imposed. The highest fine proposed by FICORA thus far has been EUR 50,000. Any penalty fine proposed by FICORA cannot be more than 5 percent of the TV or radio broadcaster’s turnover for operations conducted under their license during the previous year. Penalty fines are assessed and imposed by the Market Court, as noted in the example above, which provides an extra “check” on any of FICORA’s sanctioning decisions. In addition, FICORA cannot fine print and public service media in Finland; its monitoring and sanctioning powers apply only to commercial broadcasters, as per the Act on Television and Radio Operations,84 and to telecommunications operators, as per the Communications Market Act.85

For commercial broadcasters, FICORA sanctioning powers apply to specifically defined sections of the Act on Television and Radio Operations. These include provisions on the proportion of European works and programs by independent producers, programmes that may cause detriment to the development of minors, use of exclusive rights, and certain restrictions on advertising and sponsorship. FICORA cannot levy fines or sanctions on individual journalists or media outlets on matters concerning hate speech or other provisions of criminal law, which belong to the general prosecuting authorities.86

FICORA can issue a reminder to a broadcaster or other telecommunications operators for breaches to both technical and content-related provisions in and obligate it to correct its error or breach. The decision may be enforced by a conditional fine as provided for in the Act on Conditional Fines.87 If the broadcaster fails to rectify its actions within a set period, it may be ordered to pay a penalty fine. The penalty is determined by the Market Court on the proposal of FICORA.

The limits on sanctions, including the maximum amount of fines that can be imposed on media outlets, are specified in the Act on Television and Radio Operations. According to Section 36(a), the minimum amount of the penalty is EUR 1,000 and the maximum is EUR 1 million; the penalty may, however, be no more than five percent of the television or radio broadcaster’s turnover for the operations during the previous year.88 According to this section, a penalty shall not be ordered if the action has no significant effect on the attainment of the objectives of the Act or if the ordering of the penalty is otherwise manifestly unjustified with regard to safeguarding competition. The enforcement of fines is governed by the Act on Conditional Fines, which also details the procedures for failure to pay fines.89

Hence, it is factually correct that according to the Finnish law a separate Market Court on FICORA’s proposal may impose fines on broadcasters totalling up to EUR 1 million. In practice, however, FICORA seldom imposes fines and the maximum fine of EUR 1 million has never been levied. FICORA recently issued a EUR 50,000 fine on Pro Radio Oy for repeated violations of its license conditions. FICORA found that the channels were broadcasting almost identical program streams, even though the licence conditions specify that each channel must have independent, local editorial content.

Conditional fines have also been imposed on television broadcasters for violations of the Act on Television and Radio Operations about broadcasting times of programmes that may cause detriment to the development of minors. For instance, Sanoma Television Oy and its television channel Jim was recently found to violate the Act and Radio and Television Operations for broadcasting programs with a “restricted to 18+ audience” rating before the designated time slots for such programs.

Cases in which FICORA has issued a reminder or a conditional fine have however been noted by the media and in public debate. However given the economic and technical nature of FICORA monitoring responsibilities, there have been no major controversies over FICORA’s sanctioning powers or its supervisory role within Finland’s media regulation system. It should also be noted that all decisions by FICORA can be appealed in general administrative courts. Appeals do not automatically suspend the decision, unless provided by court. The administrative court’s decisions can be further appealed in the Supreme Administrative Court.

82 “Criticism 17” in “Criticisms and answers formulated on the subject of the proposed media act examined in a European context,” Ministry of Public Administration and Justice, December 20, 2010, available at:http://www.kormany.hu/en/ministry-of-public-administration-and-justice/news/criticisms-and-answers-formulated-on-the-subject-of-the-proposed-media-act-examined-in-a-european-context 83 Information on Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority (FICORA) available at the following website: http://www.ficora.fi/en/etusivu.html. 84 Act on Television and Radio Operations (744/1998; amendments up to 1068/2007 included), unofficial translation in English available at: http://www.finlex.fi/en/laki/kaannokset/1998/en19980744.pdf.www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/kaannokset/1998/en19980744.pdf. 85 Communications Market Act (393/2003; amendments up to 363/2011 included), unofficial translation in English available at: http://www.finlex.fi/en/laki/kaannokset/2003/en20030393.pdf.www.finlex.fi/en/laki/kaannokset/2003/en20030393.pdf. 86 General criminal liability of individual journalists and responsible editors (all publications must designate a person with the responsibility to direct and supervise editorial work) are detailed in the Act on the Exercise of Freedom of Expression in Mass Media (460/2003), unofficial translation available at: http://www.finlex.fi/en/laki/kaannokset/2003/en20030460.pdf 87 Act on Conditional Fines (14.12.1990/1113), available in Finnish only at: http://www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/ ajantasa/1990/19901113. 88 Act on Television and Radio Operations, Section 36(a), (744/1998; amendments up to 1068/2007 included), unofficial translation in English available at: http://www.finlex.fi/en/laki/kaannokset/1998/en19980744.pdf.www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/kaannokset/1998/en19980744.pdf 89 Administrative Judicial Procedure Act: http://www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/kaannokset/1996/en19960586.pdf