Press Release: Citizenship : European Commission calls on Finland to ensure personal tax data is protected by EU rules

The European Commission warned on 3 June 2010 Finland that its data protection law may be breaking EU rules because it does not protect personal tax information published in the media. Finnish taxpayers’ personal data is available to the public and is being collected by businesses for sale as special publications, CDs and text messages. Finnish data protection rules do not cover personal data that has been made public in the media. Under EU rules, personal data may only be collected for legitimate purposes, and may only be further processed for the specific purposes for which it is was collected. In a letter of formal notice – the first stage in the infringement process – sent today, the Commission asked Finland for more information on how it will ensure that personal tax data is protected, as required by EU rules.