Finland Wants to Grant the Defence Expanded Intelligence Powers

The Ministry of Defence Finland (Puolustusministeriö) has submitted a bill for the revision of the law on military intelligence operations for consultation. According to a press release from the Ministry of Defence, the reform aims to strengthen national security through new and expanded powers.

– We are developing intelligence legislation so that we can protect national security even more effectively. With the new powers we propose, we ensure that potential threats are prevented and that we can prepare for them through current legislation, says Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen in the press release.

Among the proposed changes is the ability to gather information from data systems used for military operations or that may pose a serious threat to national security. A new provision will also allow for the disruption or modification of such systems abroad using data technology methods.

The proposal also involves expanding the definition of military intelligence authority to include the Army (Armén), Navy (Marinen), and Air Force (Flygvapnet), with access to certain methods such as radio signal intelligence. The Finnish Border Guard (Rajavartiolaitos) is proposed to assist in intelligence gathering upon request.

The exchange of information between intelligence authorities and entities such as the Tax Administration, Financial Supervisory Authority, and pension institutions is proposed to be expanded to facilitate the preparation of compliance reports. The changes are based, among other things, on experiences from the application of the current law and technological development.