Finland may be heading toward a surveillance society

Finnish authorities have long used technology from the controversial US firm Palantir, investigative journalist Eero Mäntymaa writes in an analysis for Yle, raising the question of whether the country is drifting toward a surveillance state.

The central issue, he argues, is what Finnish authorities are doing with such tools—and the answer remains unclear, as agencies refuse to discuss their use publicly. When Yle requested information from Customs about its Palantir operations, the agency took two months to respond, only to say it would disclose nothing.

There are reasons to be wary of Palantir, Mäntymaa notes. The company does not present itself as a neutral tech provider but as a defender of Western culture, openly supporting clients like Israel, which faces genocide investigations. Even setting aside such controversies, he asks whether relying on US technology is wise, given the unpredictability of American leadership—especially under a potential second Trump term.

Yet Palantir’s success stems from its advanced software, marketed effectively in an era where fear drives demand. The real question, Mäntymaa insists, is how Finnish authorities deploy these tools.

Public insight into their use is limited to scattered cases. Five years ago, the National Bureau of Investigations (NBI) uploaded images of sexual assault victims into Clearview AI’s facial recognition system without assessing how the company handled sensitive data—or even notifying the National Police Board. Last week, Helsingin Sanomat reported that police had profiled dozens of Elokapina environmental activists, subjecting some, including a primary school-aged child, to electronic surveillance. While authorities are permitted to use such measures only when suspecting serious crimes, the targets in this case were activists, not criminals.

It remains unknown whether Palantir’s technology played a role in selecting these surveillance targets. But such errors have occurred elsewhere when authorities use AI-assisted tools to streamline operations.

Finns have traditionally accepted surveillance in the name of national security. Yet the digital footprint of the average citizen—online activity, social media, location data—now allows authorities to compile detailed profiles using tools like Palantir, combining external data with official records to create “digital twins” of individuals.

Proposed legislative changes could soon expand police powers. If passed, authorities would be able to use covert data collection methods on citizens without suspicion of a crime, and automate the harvesting of public information. Palantir’s technology is designed for exactly this kind of analysis.

In short, AI-assisted mass surveillance without criminal suspicion may no longer be confined to authoritarian states like China. It could become reality in Finland as well.

Some Finns might accept this, reasoning that those with nothing to hide have nothing to fear. Others will find the prospect chilling. Either way, Mäntymaa argues, such a shift should not happen without a thorough public debate—one that includes the authorities themselves.