Minister of Transport and Communications Timo Harakka (sd) is silent on the transactions made by the company he wholly owns. The minister has sold the meta.fi domain to a law firm that has acted in similar matters on behalf of Facebook. Thus, Minister Harakka evaded requests for comments at Alfa-TV’s studio. Authors (3) Thursday 16.12.2021 at 19:54 (edited 16.12.2021 at 20:54)
Minister for Transport and Communications Timo Harakka (sd) did not wish to comment in any way on the transactions he had made. Iltalehti reported on Tuesday that Harakka had sold the meta.fi web address, which he had already registered in the names of Kansakunta Oy, which he had owned in 2013.
The domain was bought by Minister Haraka from the international Hogan Lovells – the Paris office of the law firm, which is known to represent Facebook.
Facebook changed its name at the end of October. The new name of the company is Meta. The company has sought to acquire the trademark rights and domain names associated with the new name.
Reuters, for example, said on Monday it bought Meta trademark rights from a local U.S. bank, Meta Financial Group, for $ 60 million. A U.S. company called Meta Company, meanwhile, said on its website that the same law firm, Hogan Lovells, had tried to buy the company’s domain name.
Minister of Transport and Communications Timo Harakka (sd) is silent about his transaction related to the meta.fi web address. IL Archive/zumawire/MVPhotos
Shut up, run away
Magpie has not wanted to comment on the trade amount.
– On agreed not to comment, Harakka told Helsingin Sanomat on Tuesday.
Iltalehti has approached Haraka several times to comment on the matter. What makes the situation special is that, in the light of public information, the Minister of Transport and Communications has done business with a company that is likely to act as a Facebook broker or intermediary.
Facebook is one of the world’s largest social media companies. with an operating profit of more than $ 9 billion in July-September and more than 2.7 billion people using its services every day.
The company’s operations in Finland are subject to the regulation and supervision of Minister Haraka’s business area. Even a potentially large deal with Facebook could be problematic for the credibility and transparency of the minister and the ministry he heads.
Iltalehti reached Minister Haraka’s state hall on Thursday after Question Time.
Minister Magpie.
– Yeah.
Can I get Iltalehti a comment about this Meta Store?
– No, yes. There will be no comments right now.
When you sold it …
– No comments, I already said.
Why don’t you want to answer these questions?
(Minister Harakka leaves quickly out of place.)
Iltalehti reached Haraka again at the exit of the Parliament House.
Can I get an explanation for not wanting to comment on the Meta-shop?
(Minister Harakka will put on his jacket and answer nothing.)
However, this is a key issue for the transparency and openness of the Minister’s activities. strong>
(Minister Magpie falls silent, walks down the stairs to the exit.)
Do you have any comments?
(Minister Harakka leaves Parliament and goes to the ministerial car.)
The magpie was reached a third time in the evening. This time, Iltalehti asked the minister for a comment in front of Alfa-TV’s studio. Again, Magpie fell silent.
These questions are open:
Earlier in the day, Iltalehti e-mailed Minister Haraka with a list of questions, to which the following open questions would be answered. He has not responded to them.
- I sold the meta.fi domain in the name of Kansakunta Oy to the Paris office of the international law firm Hogan Lovells. What was the transaction amount
- Facebook, which recently changed its name to Meta, uses that office. Did you actually sell the domain to Facebook?
- The regulation of the data economy and some giants is one of the biggest issues in your industry. As a Minister, can you have a business relationship with Facebook?
- Can a Minister make such transactions without telling the public in detail?
- In an interview with HS, you said that the transactions were massaged for days. Did you negotiate with the buyer yourself or did you use a law firm, for example
- You told the editor-in-chief of IL that you do not know if Facebook (now Meta) is a buyer. How can the Finnish Minister for Transport and Communications make deals without knowing who the ultimate buyer is? there is every kind of demand for transparency, and you yourself have called for transparency in the case of Minister Lenita Toivaka. Why don’t you want to be open now that you’re a minister?
Mäenpää: the deal done as an individual
Iltalehti asked legal scholars about the legal side of the matter. Olli Mäenpää, Professor Emeritus of Administrative Law at the University of Helsinki, estimates that the Public Disclosure Act does not apply in Haraka’s case.
comment by email.
Mäenpää believes that the Minister’s declaration of interest applies to holdings in companies, but not to transactions made by the company. The exception is where the seller undertakes to promote the interests of the buyer.
“paragraph”> Professor of Public Law Tomi Voutilainen shares the same lines as Mäenpää. He considers that there is no direct obligation to report a transaction unless they have a direct bearing on the assessment of the ministerial action. Cases of impediment may be brought before the Minister.
– and the Ministry of Communications, Voutilainen points out.
= “paragraph”> Correction 12/16/2021 at 8:54 PM. Corrected Facebook operating profit figure.
Editorial: Does Timo Harakka want to be a businessman or a minister in secret deals? 16: 26Chancellor of Justice Tuomas Pöysti: I spoke with Minister Haraka “very briefly” – no details were discussed17.12. 18: 31Timo Harakka sold a web address connected to Facebook14.12. 15: 55Facebook changed its name to Meta: Finnish Meta is owned by Minister Timo Harakka29.10.2021 10:16
