Finland - July 2023

Prime Minister Petteri Orpo expressed his opposition to online harassment and called on all parliamentary groups to reassess acceptable online behavior among their members, with the goal of upholding Finland as a role model for freedom of the press. The response comes following criticism of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, who issued a statement calling the online harassment of journalist Ida Erämaa a smear campaign. Erämaa was covering the racist scandals of Cabinet members (Vilhelm Junnila, Minister of Economic Affairs – who later resigned, Riikka Purra, the Finns Party leader and Deputy Prime Minister, and Wille Rydman the Minister of Economic Affairs), when she was subjected to online abuse, including threats of physical and sexual violence, as well as personal comments by MPs. The nonprofit Coalition for Women in Journalism has also condemned this.

Sources:  Politico (1), Politico (2), The Guardian, Yleisradio Oy, Reuters, Coalition For Women in Journalism, Council of Europe