芬蘭法院責令“耶和華見證人”停止收集個人信息_風聞

【核心提示】芬蘭高等行政法院（KHO）裁定，“耶和華見證人”沒有徵得信息被採集人同意而上門蒐集其信息的行為違法。

據芬蘭電視新聞頻道Uutiset2018年12月17日報道，歐洲法院在2018年7月表示，“耶和華見證人”教派上門蒐集個人信息用以改變被採集人的宗教信仰的行為是非法的，因為這種行為未履行信息保護條例。之後，芬蘭高等行政法院對此作出裁定：“耶和華見證人”教派在傳教活動中需要徵得信息被採集者的同意才能列出其名單以及收集個人信息。

2013年，司法部下屬的信息保護董事會裁定“耶和華見證人”教派收集個人信息的行為違法。此後，該案件就一直受到嚴格審查。然而，到2014年，赫爾辛基行政法院卻判決該行為不違法。

該行為被高等行政法院禁止之後，芬蘭內政部所屬的信息保護委員會給予“耶和華見證人”教派6個月的整改時間，以確保其不再收集個人信息。

 英文原文

Finnish court orders Jehovah’s Witnesses to end illegal data gathering

Finland’s Supreme Administrative Court (KHO) ruled that private data gathering door-to-door by Jehovah’s Witnesses is illegal without prior consent.

File photo of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Image: Ismo Pekkarinen / AOP

The ruling by Finland’s Supreme Administrative Court follows a review of the practice requested from the European Court Justice. In July, the ECJ published its opinion, saying that the practice of Jehovah’s Witnesses collecting personal information as members proselytise door-to-door is illegal, because the organisation is effectively compiling a personal data register, which should comply with data protection regulations.

Finland’s KHO has now concurred, saying that the creation of name lists and the taking of notes containing personal information during the group’s missionary activities always requires the consent of those whose data is being gathered.

The issue has been under scrutiny since 2013, when a data protection board under the Justice Ministry ruled that the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ practice of collecting personal data violated the law. However, that was followed in 2014 by a ruling by the Helsinki Administrative Court that the religious group’s personal register was not illegal.

Following the Supreme Administrative Court’s decision to ban the practice, the Interior Ministry’s Data Protection Board has now given the Jehovah’s Witnesses a six month deadline to ensure that personal information is no longer gathered for the group’s own purposes.