Everyday life, democracy and security in Finland are more and more dependant on digital services. Elections, social security, taxation and many other basic functions of society are built on top of information systems. Yet, more and more of these critical services and the data in them is being moved to the control of big corporations from outside of the EU. In practice this means that vital services for Finns can be at the mercy of foreign laws and political decisions.
We propose a clear shift in a direction that would secure Finland’s right to self-determination. Critical public services and data must be kept in the hands of Finnish and European actors, on servers located in the EU/EEA and built on top of European or open software. Officials must know who owns and controls the systems, which countries’ laws are applicable to them and what risks are involved. In addition, we must ensure that the services also work in a crisis and that Finland is not stuck in a single-vendor lock or as hostage of a foreign power.
This is not just about security, but also about our choices in the future. When we hold the digital foundations of society in our own hands, we strengthen democracy, protect citizens’ rights and improve Finland’s standing in the world. At the same time we support domestic and European technology skills, jobs and innovation. Digital sovereignty is not a technical detail – it is a fundamental question of who digitally controls Finland and on whose terms.
The principles of the digital sovereignty social movement
- We are an open social movement, and anyone who supports our goals is welcome.
- We may differ on other topics, but the initiative. We respect each other’s opinions and try to funnel our energy into the objectives of the initiative and not into internal strife.
- If you feel like you want to do something good (and legal) to advance Finland’s digital sovereignty, do it! Don’t ask for permission, but tell what you were thinking of doing so others can get involved and help.
- Diversity is a virtue and everyone can communicate from their own perspective.
- Better fast than well: good enough for now and safe enough to try. It can always be improved going forward.
Ways of working
- Discussion takes place in Signal and sometimes in Jitsi (conference calls). Different subgroups are created when needed.
- Actions in the name of the initiative strive to be by consensus as much as possible. If other decisions need to be made, the puuharyhmä sub-group makes the decisions based on their internal concensus. Members of puuharyhmä are decided in meetings of the whole group and more are named when necessary.
The group gathering signatures for the initiative has the following chats in Signal:
Everyone who is interested in the topic is now needed to spread knowledge of the initiative and gather signatures!
Join our supporters!
Contact Lauri Lavanti and be part of making this initiative happen.
