When Facebook sought to clear website names ahead of its global rebrand to the corporate name Meta, it bumped into an unusual owner of the Finnish URL meta.fi: the country’s digital minister.
Finland’s Minister of Transport and Communications Timo Harakka in 2013 bought meta.fi through his publishing and communications firm Kansakunta oy, local newspaper Helsingin Sanomat reported Tuesday.
Harakka this year cashed in on the domain when selling it to Hogan Lovells, a law firm that provides services to Facebook, ahead of the U.S. tech giant’s big rebrand in late October.
The Finnish minister declined to comment on how much he sold the domain for but told Helsingin Sanomat he was first approached by interested buyers late last summer and negotiations over the price lasted around a month.
Harakka, a colorful figure in Finnish politics, only took up elected office in 2015, years after he purchased the domain name. He has held the position of minister of transport and communication since 2019.
