Finland's Act on Electronic Identification and Electronic Signatures (Electronic Identification Act) will be amended to correspond with EU legislation and promote e-commerce.
The Government proposed amendment of the Act in question on 4 May 2016. The amendment is slated to enter into force on 1 July 2016. The amendment is related to the Government's key projects, which are being implemented to build a growth environment for e-commerce and streamline regulation.
The Act would further clarify the difference between providers of means of identification and identification service providers operating in Finnish trust networks as well as require service providers to demonstrate that their services comply with set requirements.
All identification service providers will be required to form a trust network in 2017. For the consumer, the advantage of having a trust network is that the same electronic identifiers can be used for several different services. Electronic service providers would not need to make agreements with multiple identification services; a single identification service provider could handle the agreements for an entire network.
Beginning in 2019, the driving licence will no longer be considered an acceptable form of identification when applying for a strong electronic means of identification, such as bank identifiers or mobile certificates. In order to obtain a strong means of identification, the applicant would be required to present a passport or official personal identity card.
The legislation concerning electronic signatures was amended in line with the EU Electronic Identification and Trust Services (eIDAS) Regulation, which will enter into force on 1 July 2016. The tasks resulting from enactment of the Regulation would be assigned to the Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority (FICORA) and the Population Register Centre. FICORA would be responsible for overseeing compliance with EU legislation concerning electronic identification and electronic trust services.
Further information
Senior Adviser, Kreetta Simola, tel. 0295 34 2609, [email protected]
Director, Safety and Security Unit, Timo Kievari, tel. 0295 34 2620, [email protected], @TimoKievari
