Working group considers legislation on identity protection
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A working group set by the Ministry of the Interior sees the practice of identity theft as a significant problem in Finland.
Currently, writing in the name of another person on the Internet, for example, is not a crime if the content is not actually libellous, or if economic fraud is not involved.
The working group is not actually making a proposal on criminalising identity theft, but is leaving it to the Ministry of Justice for consideration.
The view of the Ministry of Justice has been up to now that no legislative changes are needed, as the most serious types of identity theft, such as making purchases in someone else’s name, are already crimes.
Now the Ministry of Justice is waiting for a report from the Interior Ministry.
“The world of the Internet is one in which people can be hurt, and if concrete examples of this emerge, we will naturally have to start to consider action”, says Ilari Hannula of the Ministry of Justice.
Data Protection Ombudsman Reijo Aarnio feels that identity theft as such should be made a crime, regardless of whether or not monetary gain is involved He notes that school and workplace bullying that involves the use of another person’s name is commonplace.
“Perhaps this kind of thing could be brought under control if it were taught in school that it is a crime to portray one’s self as another person in a way that causes problems for that person.”
The chair of the working group, Johanna Kari, says that a blanket ban on identity theft would be difficult from a legal point of view, and that police would not always have the authority needed to investigate the cases.
“I can say, however, that legislation is currently not sufficiently inclusive from the citizens’ point of view.
One of the members of the working group, Sari Kajantie of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), says that such problems can be solved.
“The criminalisation of identity theft is not just a question of legal technique. It is a broader societal question.”
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 22.2.2010 - TODAY |
 Working group considers legislation on identity protection |
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