Finland

What the government has said

“The proposal would mean large-scale mass surveillance of communications; the measures would target all communications on the services in question.”Eduskunta Transport and Communications Committee statement, 23 October 2024, translated from Finnish

Receipt: Council minutes, 17 Jun 2026 (rejects mandatory detection in private communication), via netzpolitik.org

Parliament's committees set the line. Helsinki backed the voluntary-only mandate on condition that encryption is not broken, and in June 2026 accepted mandatory detection only outside private messages.

How it voted in the Council

Negotiating mandate, 26 November 2025

yes The Council position adopted in Coreper: voluntary scanning only, no detection orders. Coreper does not publish votes; the split was reported the same day by the Czech news agency CTK.

Chat Control 1.0, 23 July 2026

yes The vote that brought back the temporary rules: voluntary scanning of private messages allowed until 3 April 2028.

A government can oppose mandatory scanning and still vote for the voluntary regime. The two are listed separately for that reason. Council votes need 15 states with 65 % of the population; four states with more than 35 % block.

How its MEPs voted

On 9 July 2026 the European Parliament voted on a motion to reject the Council text that brought back voluntary scanning, Chat Control 1.0. Rejection needed 361 votes and got 314, so the text passed. Of the 15 MEPs elected in Finland, 6 voted to reject it, 8 voted against rejection, 0 abstained and 1 did not vote.

• 6 for rejection, that is against voluntary scanning
• 8 against rejection, letting the text pass
• 0 abstained
• 1 did not vote

The government line above concerns mandatory scanning; this vote concerned the voluntary regime. They are different questions, which is why both are shown. Source: roll-call vote 195775 as published by the European Parliament and compiled by HowTheyVote.eu; all 27 delegations side by side on the governments page.

Who decides in Finland

Minister

Mari Rantanen, Minister of the Interior (Finns Party). Justice Minister Leena Meri (Finns Party). In Finland the negotiating line is set together with Parliament’s Grand Committee

Ministry in charge

Ministry of the Interior; Ministry of Justice

Permanent representation

Ambassador Jori Arvonen, Permanent Representative (Coreper II); Ambassador Lauri Hirvonen, Deputy Permanent Representative (Coreper I)

National parliament

Eduskunta: the Grand Committee sets Finland’s negotiating line; the Transport and Communications Committee’s statement of 23 Oct 2024 rejected reading private messages, and the Grand Committee decided the line on 26 Nov 2025 (see sources)

Source: valtioneuvosto.fi/en/governments-and-ministers/ministers/-/min/orpo/minister-of-the-interior

Timeline

1. 23 July 2026Council vote on Chat Control 1.0, the temporary rules. Finland: yes.
2. 9 July 2026European Parliament votes on rejecting Chat Control 1.0; the motion fails, the text passes. MEPs elected in Finland: 6 for rejection, 8 against, 0 abstained, 1 did not vote. source
3. Since 17 Jun 2026Recorded as against. Receipt: Council minutes, 17 Jun 2026 (rejects mandatory detection in private communication), via netzpolitik.org source
4. 26 November 2025Council negotiating mandate adopted in Coreper. Finland: yes.

Sources

• Council minutes, 17 Jun 2026 (rejects mandatory detection in private communication), via netzpolitik.org (receipt)
• Eduskunta committee statement, 23 Oct 2024 (Verkkouutiset)
• Grand Committee decision, 26 Nov 2025 (SDP group release)
• Permanent Representation of Finland to the EU, management
• Method: what the labels mean and where the population shares come from