Finland approves e-mail tracking law.(E-MAIL)

The Finnish Parliament approved a controversial law in March allowing employers to track workers' e-mails.

Lawmakers approved the government legislation--dubbed "Nokia's Law"--in a 96 to 56 vote. Forty-eight were absent or abstained.

The new law, which requires the president's approval, does not allow employers to read employees' e-mails. But it allows them to track workers' e-mails by retaining information about e-mails, including the recipients, senders, and the time when they were sent or received, the Associated Press reported. Employers also can see whether e-mails contain attachments. Previously, the law was unclear regarding whether these practices were allowed.

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If employers suspect a crime, they have to call police to investigate.

Employers' organizations have voiced their strong support for the law, saying it will help deter corporate espionage. Critics contend it infringes on employees' privacy.

"We must not be naive and imagine that corporate espionage does not happen here in Finland," Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen said. "We must find ways of making that as difficult as possible."

The media named the law "Lex Nokia" (Latin for "Nokia's Law") after reports that Nokia, the world's largest cell phone maker, had threatened to move its headquarters out of Finland if the legislation was not approved. Nokia denied the reports.

"No, we have certainly not been guilty of threats, pressure, or anything of that nature," Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said in an interview on Finnish YLE TV. "We have not been actively involved in this question."

The government proposal for the new law was meant to improve a 2004 data law, which both opponents and proponents agreed was unclear.

"What we are doing here is using 10 paragraphs to specify what employers can do and what they can't do," said Kimmo Sasi, chairman of the parliamentary Constitutional committee. "In this way, it's clearer for both employers and employees."

It is not clear when the new law will take effect.

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