芬兰法院责令“耶和华见证人”停止收集个人信息_风闻

【核心提示】芬兰高等行政法院（KHO）裁定，“耶和华见证人”没有征得信息被采集人同意而上门搜集其信息的行为违法。

据芬兰电视新闻频道Uutiset2018年12月17日报道，欧洲法院在2018年7月表示，“耶和华见证人”教派上门搜集个人信息用以改变被采集人的宗教信仰的行为是非法的，因为这种行为未履行信息保护条例。之后，芬兰高等行政法院对此作出裁定：“耶和华见证人”教派在传教活动中需要征得信息被采集者的同意才能列出其名单以及收集个人信息。

2013年，司法部下属的信息保护董事会裁定“耶和华见证人”教派收集个人信息的行为违法。此后，该案件就一直受到严格审查。然而，到2014年，赫尔辛基行政法院却判决该行为不违法。

该行为被高等行政法院禁止之后，芬兰内政部所属的信息保护委员会给予“耶和华见证人”教派6个月的整改时间，以确保其不再收集个人信息。

 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.