Finnish editors association warns emergency reporting changes will restrict public access to information

Finnish media will no longer receive automatic initial alerts about accidents such as fires and traffic collisions starting in September, following a decision by the Ministry of the Interior to dismantle the emergency services’ media alert system, Yle reports.

The Association of Editors-in-Chief criticized the move, stating it will significantly weaken the media’s ability to report on emergencies and ultimately limit public access to critical information. Antti Kokkonen, chair of the association and editor-in-chief of Kaleva, warned the change risks creating an information vacuum that could be filled by disinformation on social media.

“Naturally, this narrows the flow of information to citizens—that is the core issue here,” Kokkonen said. He added that the shift would force newsrooms to implement inefficient workarounds, such as routine phone checks with emergency services, straining resources for both media and responders.

Under the current system, media receive preliminary alerts for medium and large-scale emergencies, including precise locations down to street names or numbers. The new system, expected to launch in October, will withhold exact addresses, citing privacy protections. Kokkonen dismissed this justification, noting that such details are already withheld in police matters and medical transports, where privacy concerns are more acute.

The Ministry of the Interior has also classified the number of emergency response units deployed—such as fire trucks—as “performance-sensitive” data, arguing that disclosing it could compromise security. Jari Nieminen, duty chief of Pirkanmaa’s emergency services, defended the change, stating that accidents involving individuals or property fall under privacy protections, and that operational details may be withheld if deemed sensitive.

Emergency services will still issue public alerts when incidents pose risks to surrounding areas, such as smoke spread from fires or traffic disruptions. However, initial reporting will now be at the discretion of individual agencies rather than automatic.