The amazing growth and new technological developments in TV and radio all around Europe, came with the establishment of new private TV and radio stations in Western Europe. To respond to that rapid growth and to unify the different laws concerning the audiovisual practices in the communications sector, the European Union developed a regulation that draw the minimal standards to be applied by all Member States: this initiative is what we know today as: the “Television without Frontiers” directive from 1989 (Directive 89/552/EEC).

As new practices appeared such as teleshopping and sponsoring, as well as the need of new regulations for all the members in terms of protection of minors and the promotion of the European cultural productions, it became necessary to make an amendment to the first directive, which was done in 1997 (Directive 97/36/EC).

This current version provides legislation in the following areas:

• General provisions, current version such as the law applicable to television broadcasts
• Jurisdiction;
• Access of the public to major (sports) events;
• Promoting the production and distribution of European works;
• Television advertising, teleshopping and sponsorship;
• Protection of minors, right of reply and monitoring of the Directive.

THE FINNISH COMMUNICATIONS REGULATORY AUTHORITY (FICORA)

The FICORA is the authority regulating the electronic communications and information society services in Finland. Their goal is to ensure that the public have access to good quality communications services.

Conceived before as the Telecommunications Administration Centre, was established in 1988 and its objective was to handle licences and supervisory task related to radio and telecommunications operations. The Telecommunications Administration Centre changed its name to the Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority on September 1, 2001. The FICORA is today an agency in the same administrative sector as the Ministry of Transport and Communications

FICORA has as main task:

• Technical regulations and coordination on standardisation
• Supervision of the technical operation and security of communications networks
• Coordination of numbering in telecommunications networks and allocation of number blocks and codes for operators.
• Supervision to ensure healthy competition and compliance by operators with the obligations on pricing and operation.
• Controlling on the use of radio frequencies so that they will be equally available to all who need them.
• Guarantee the national interests in international agreements on frequency usage.
• Protection of privacy and data security in electronic communications
• Monitoring television and radio programmes to ensure their compliance with the statutory requirements on European works, advertising and sponsorship.
• Control on postal operations, television fee administration, and grants domain names under the national root .fi.

FICORA’s regulatory tasks not only relate to telecommunications, but also radio and television operations, postal services, and e-commerce. Based on the Act on Television and Radio Operations FICORA also supervises the compliance with most of the specific provisions on programmes, like as the European requirements with regard to advertising and sponsorship.

FICORA is also responsible for the administration of licence fees that the television or radio broadcasters pay to the Television and Radio Fund as well as for the collection of television and radio fees that have to be paid for the use of television and radio sets.

FICORA has to monitor that the information society service providers, monitoring the comply of the Finnish laws . As of today the Finnish media legislation is facing many important changes, based on the new directives from the European Community at the level of communications.

There are many acts that are part of the current Finnish framework on media legislation; such as:
a) Freedom of the Press Act
b)The Communications Market Act
c) The Act on Television and Radio Operations
d) The Act on the provision of information society services
e) Promotion of Film Art Act
f) The Copyright Act

The following acts are also part of the Finnish regulatory framework but can also be taken as extra rules to the previous mentioned acts, like:

The Radio Act that deals with the administration of radio frequencies; the Act on Communications Administration; defining the duties of the FICORA; the Act on the Finnish Broadcasting Company Ltd of which determines the legal status, the ownership, the organisation and the duties of the public television and radio broadcaster "Yleisradio Oy”;

CONSUMER OMBUDSMAN

Another regulatory authority is the Consumer Ombudsman who can be seen as a competition to FICORA, but they do a cooperative work in subjects such as regulation on fair competition, supervision and advise over the ethical principles of advertising and teleshopping, also in subjects related to the protection of minors, and violations made by the media from the point of view of the public.

In finland the Consumer Protection Act and the Act on Unfair Business Practice regulate the media advertising. The consumer ombudsman is the one in charge of controlling the media advertising based in this two acts. The ombudsman monitors the behaviour of the media broadcasters in order to stop offensive messages related to minority groups, the use of children in advertising, and prohibiting the publicity of tobacco products.

The Consumer Ombudsman and FICORA work together to cooperate in an appropriate way the task of supervising the communications service providers.

SELF-REGULATION

The Finish media regulation is practiced based in the principle of freedom of speech, it is like this that all the regulations are made to establish the limits of this freedom. This is the reason why Self-regulation is in Finland a voluntary activity. This practice emphasizes on the independence of the mass media as well as the freedom of speech and publication.

In this case the supervision tasks are carried out by the media itself. The Finish authorities only mediate in criminal cases. The Act on the Exercise of Freedom of Expression in Mass Media ( 2004), is applicable to publishing and programme making. This Act determines special requirements for publishing and programme making.

Some examples of the self regulatory activities can be seen in the way YLE, MTV3 and Nelonen agreed on adjusting the TV division timings and on examining the entire programming content related to the protection of minors and the contents made for children.
For the public service broadcasting there is an Act on Broadcasting Responsibility that regulates the responsibilities in YLE's programming.

SELF-REGULATION ON THE INTERNET

In Finland, the evaluation of harmful Internet content (defined based on the law and values established in the Finnish society) is done by:
• MAPEL, the Council for Mass Media in Finland
• the Finnish Information Processing Association’s Ethics Advisory Committee
• the Council on Ethics in Advertising
• the Consumer Agency
• the Consumer Ombudsman
Other organizations have also contributed to raise awareness of the issues and have incorporated targets into their own operating programmes, like Save the Children Finland, The Mannerheim League for Child Welfare and The Finnish Federation for Communications and Teleinformatics (Ficomry) promoting self-regulation policies with the support of various codes of conduct.

THE COUNCIL FOR MASS MEDIA (CMM)

Is a self-regulating committee established in 1968. The main objective of this organization is “to interpret good professional practice and defend the freedom of speech and publication”. The main function of the CMM is to promote good journalistic practice through the usage of journalistic guidelines, which cover the press, television, radio and Internet.

Its decisions are based on guidelines for good journalistic practice accepted by the Union of Journalists in Finland (2004) and by other contract parties. Any public official or private person who feels injured by the press, radio or television can make a complaint against the alleged offender. The complainant is entitled to have a rejoinder published in the media.

Even thought the CMM has not legal jurisdiction, the members of the CMM (journalists, publishers and other media stakeholders) have “voluntarily committed themselves to advancing and upholding the ethical principles of the profession”. The framework of the CMM's procedures are determined by an agreement signed by all the organizations committed to the self-regulatory practices and objectives of the CMM.

The CMM has a president and nine members, from which six represent different fields of mass media, and three represent the public. They are elected by the council itself, and they can not be employees or board members of any company or organization involved in mass media.

The way the CMM works is through complains made by any person that believes that there has been a violation or a bad professional practice in the finish media. The CMM starts an investigation, to establish if there has been a break on the ethical behaviour, once this decision is made, the CMM issues a notice to the party committing the violation, which must be published in a short period of time.

The CMM can also start an investigation on its own initiative according to their permanent observation of the Finish mass media. The investigations carried out by CMM are free of charge, and are processed in an average of three months.

A complaint may be filed by any individual requesting the investigation of a matter concerning breach of good professional practice or the freedom of speech and publication. The CMM will not investigate complaints submitted anonymously or complaints where more than three months had passed since publication. The complaint should specify precisely what article, programme, photograph or practice it concerns.