General terms

Definitions 

Service 

The fintegrate.fi online service (hereinafter referred to as the service) brings together low-threshold activities that support the integration of immigrants into Finland. The activities can be specifically aimed at those who have moved to Finland, or they can be open to everyone, where participation is possible without fluent Finnish or Swedish language skills. 

The service lanuages are Finnish, Swedish, and English.   

The website of the service is 

• kotoutumisentukena.fi (in Finnish)  
• stödförintegration.fi and stodforintegration.fi (in Swedish) 
• fintegrate.fi (in English). 

The provision of the service 

The service is managed and maintained by the Uudenmaan elinkeino-, liikenne- ja ympäristökeskus (Uusimaa Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment, below “the administrator”). ELY-keskusten kehittämis- ja hallintokeskus (The Development and Administration Centre of the ELY Centres) supports the Uusimaa Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment in maintaining the service.  

Uusimaa Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment contact details:  

Uudenmaan ELY-keskus  
PL 36 521 Helsinki  
fintegrate(at)ely-keskus.fi  

User 

Posts and news on the service can be searched and read without registration. However, to submit your organization’s activities to the service, registration as a user is required. 

When a user registers for the service, they agree to the service’s terms of use, commit to them, and are responsible for complying with them.  

Content 

On the fintegrate.fi online service, you can: 

• Search for and submit low-threshold integration-supporting activities and events aimed at immigrants, or activities that anyone can participate in, even without fluent knowledge of Finnish or Swedish.  
• Explore the service’s current content. 

Users are responsible for ensuring the accuracy, timeliness, and compliance with the service’s terms of use of the information they post. The service administration is responsible for the content of the "News" section and the posts it creates.  

The content of the service is governed by these terms of use and the service’s privacy policy. The service is public, and its use is free of charge.  

Structure and position of the terms of use 

These terms of use govern the responsibilities, rights, and obligations of the administrator and the user concerning the online service. 

• The administrator can update, review, and change the terms of use, as well as the content and appearance of the site, without the user’s consent. 
• The administrator has the right to change the service, its content, its availability, and the hardware or software requirements for use at any time. 
• The administrator has the right to suspend the service at any time.  
• The administrator cannot modify the service or its terms in a way that would violate the user’s essential rights. 
• The user has the right to stop using the service at any time. However, the administrator still has the obligations defined in these terms regarding the material provided by the user.  

The current version of these terms of use will be published on the fintegrate.fi service. Changes will come into effect once they have been published.   

By using the service, the user agrees to comply with the terms of use. The user must accept the terms in their entirety. 

In addition to these terms of use, the applicable legislation will apply to the service.  

Service Access and Authentication 

All site visitors can view posts published by registered users in the service. The posts will display the organization details of the user who published the post, such as the organization’s name, description, website address, and social media links. The details of the user who made the post will not be displayed.  

Registered users who have access to at least one registered organization can post activities to the service. The organization can be registered by a hired employee of the organization or any person who is closely affiliated with the organization, such as a board member or volunteer.   

The following types of organizations can register for the service: 

• Registered associations 
• Registered foundations 
• Municipalities 
• Municipal federations 
• Employment areas 
• The state 
• Wellbeing services counties 
• Educational institutions 
• Evangelical Lutheran and Orthodox congregations 
• Other registered religious communities 
• Chambers of commerce 
• Companies 
• Others. 

For a valid reason, other reliable activity entities or civic actions can also be registered as organizations in the service. In such cases, the administrator will assess the reliability and suitability of the activity for the service on a case-by-case basis. Additionally, the administrator will evaluate on a case-by-case basis whether it is appropriate to register other types of actors or activity entities as organizations. 

Projects cannot be registered as organizations in the service. The organization managing the project must be registered in the service in order to post integration-supporting activities. However, if it is a joint project of several organizations, an exception can be made. The administrator will assess on a case-by-case basis whether registering the project as an organization in the service is appropriate. 

During registration, the organization and its first user's information will be sent to the service administrator for approval. The organization's first user cannot publish a post in the service until the service administrator has approved the organization in the service.  

Before the administrator approves the user's registration, the administrator has the right to request additional such information from the user that is important for registering in the service or to request changes to the information provided during registration. If the user does not provide the requested additional information or make the requested changes within one month, the administrator has the right to reject the organization's registration.  

The user of the organization 

• approves other users of their organization as users of the service 
• can publish and delete their organization's posts  
• can edit their organization's information and posts 
• can revoke the organization's access rights from a user within their own organization.  

Due of these responsibilities, the users of the organization have the right to view the data of all users within their organization.  

The user authenticates to the service using their email address and a password they have created. The email address serves as the user's username. The password must be at least 12 characters long and include at least one uppercase letter and one number.  

Processing of personal and business information 

In order for the service to function as intended, the administrator processes personal data of individuals, which includes the user's name, email address, phone number (optional), and IP address. The administrator also processes organizational data, such as the organization's website address, the organization’s type, and in some cases, the business ID (y-tunnus). 

The user’s personal data is processed in accordance with the privacy policy based on the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).  

The users of the organization have the right to view the information of other users within their own organization, including their name, email, and phone number (optional). This right is important for users to contact other users within their organization in case of issues related to the use of the service.  

Application of the act on information management in public administration 

The administrator does not disclose user information for marketing purposes or for any other purposes outside the service without the user's consent. The administrator only uses the information when informing about current matters of the service, such as changes in content. The administrator follows good information management practices in accordance with the requirements of the Act on Information Management in Public Administration (906/2019). 

Copyright 

The service administrator or another data provider specified in connection with the material has rights to the text and image content published on the service. 

The use and linking of the service’s text material is permitted in contexts consistent with good practice, provided the source is cited. Any use of the material for commercial purposes must always be agreed upon separately with the service administrator.  

Images and their rights of use 

Only the service administrator has the right to use the images on the website.  

Content on the service 

The administrator does not actively monitor the content published by users on the service. The person submitting the post is responsible for the content of their posts and the accuracy of the information.  

The administrator is not responsible for any costs or damages caused to the user by possible errors in the website's content. The administrator is also not responsible for any harm caused by technical disruptions or material linked to the website that has been published by external parties.  

The service languages are Finnish, Swedish, and English. Posts can be made in these languages.  

What can be published in the service? 

In the service, you can publish: 

• low-threshold activities and tasks aimed at immigrants that support integration, such as language clubs and peer groups 
• low-threshold, native-language support services for non-native speakers, such as counseling services 
• low-threshold activities open to everyone, volunteer tasks, or training opportunities that can be participated in even if one does not have strong skills in Finnish or Swedish 
• individual events that support integration 
• online services that gather activities organized by various actors, as described in the previous points.  

The activities posted in the service must be open and based on the voluntary participation of the individuals. The activity may be aimed at a specific target group, but participation must not be restricted in such a way that, for example, a referral from an authority is required to take part.  

Each integration-supporting activity or group must be published with its own post so that the activity can be found as easily as possible using the service's search engine. Different activities and groups should not be combined in a single post.  

The activities published in the service must not discriminate against anyone. Participants must be treated equally. The values of the activities must promote gender equality and the equality of different population groups. The activities must not create opposition between different population groups.  

What cannot be published in the service? 

In the service, you cannot publish: 

• activities and support that require a referral or participation that depends on being a client, such as in social services 
• activities and support where failing to participate could affect unemployment benefits paid to the client 
• commercial activities the organizing organization may collect a reasonable participation, material, or membership fee, but the activity must not aim for financial profit. Businesses can publish their free activities in the service. 
• political or confessional religious activities. However, the organization may be politically or religiously affiliated. 
• education that leads to a degree or can be accepted as self-directed studies in employment services under the Act on the Promotion of Immigrant Integration (§28). Vocational studies that do not affect the participant's livelihood can be published in the service. 

Administrator rights 

The administrator: 

• has the right to process the content in the service for the purpose of managing the service. 
• has the right to remove a published post if it does not comply with these terms of use or contains outdated information. The user will be notified of this by email. Once the user has made the required changes to the post, they may republish it. 
• has the right to remove incorrectly selected themes from the post, so the service's search engine does not return incorrect results. 
• has the right, when necessary, to add information to an post to ensure it can be properly found through the service's search engine. 
• has the right to make changes to the appearance of the post  that improve its readability and clarity. These changes may include editing paragraph breaks and correcting clear spelling or grammatical errors. 
• does not have the right to edit the factual content of the post itself. 
• has the right to produce summaries and statistics on the use of the service and present them publicly without identifiable information. 
• has the right to create posts about online services that collect information on various integration-supporting activities from multiple organizations. In such cases, posts are created in collaboration with the administrators of the respective online services.  
• has the right to suspend or close the service if there is reason to suspect it is under a cyberattack. The administrator may also close or suspend the service if the user is using the service in violation of these terms of use, the law, or good practice. Additionally, the administrator may suspend or close the service if the user is using it in a way that jeopardizes the service's functionality or security arrangements or if there is reasonable suspicion of abuse.  

Compliance with the law and good practice, and misuse 

The user is responsible for ensuring that the material, including links, imported in the service complies with the law and good practice and does not infringe copyright or violate any other legal requirements. Material that is considered against good practice includes, for example, content containing racist, demeaning, or privacy-infringing expressions, writings, or presentations.  

If the administrator detects misuse, the user may be excluded from the service. If the elements of a crime are met, a police report will be filed.  

The administrator has the right to remove any material or content submitted to the service that is illegal or could cause harm.  

Administrator’s obligations and responsibility 

The administrator maintains the service so that it can be used 24 hours a day, seven days a week. However, there may be interruptions in the service. An interruption in the service’s maintenance may occur only if an obstacle to maintenance is insurmountable or if there is a disruption in general telecommunications.  

The administrator may temporarily suspend the service if changes, repairs, or other maintenance actions are carried out on the system. This situation is referred to as a service outage. The administrator will inform users in advance of any planned outages on the service’s website. Users should take into account the potential impact of the outage on their communications. Communication interruptions are regulated, among other things, by the Act on the Provision of Digital Services (306/2019). 

The service is part of the Central government. Its liability is determined in accordance with the principles of liability for damages of a public entity, taking into account the provisions of these terms of use and specific legislation. When exercising public authority, the state's liability is determined as outlined in Chapter 3, Section 2 of the Damages Act (412/1974).  

In other respects, the state's liability is governed by these terms of use and general Damages Act principles, unless liability is specifically provided for in special legislation. The data controller's and other personal data processors' liability for damages is regulated by Article 82 of the General Data Protection Regulation and the Damages Act. 

The administrator is not responsible for service outages caused by technical failures. The administrator is also not responsible for any damage caused to the user due to delays, loss, damage, or misdirection of content.  

The administrator does not generally assume responsibility for the retention of data stored in the service, unless a commitment has been made to do so for a specified period.  

The administrator checks the accuracy of the content of the posts related to web services twice a year. 

User’s obligations and responsibility 

The user is responsible for the content and presentation of the material they have submitted or processed via the online service, as stated above.  

User accounts are personal. The user is responsible for their account username and password. They are also responsible for the use of the service that occurs under their username and password. The user is responsible for keeping their password confidential.  

The user is responsible for archiving, storing, and disposing of the material they have submitted. The service provider is not obligated to store user-submitted material.   

The user shall review and update the content of the posts they have made on the service every 180 days. If the start and end dates of the activity published by the user are less than 180 days apart, the post will expire on the activity's end date.  Otherwise, the post will expire 180 days after the user has submitted it for publication. 

If the user has set a start and end date for registration for the activity, the post will expire on the registration end date. 

Expired posts are not publicly visible on the fintegrate.fi service. When the user logs in, they can edit their expired posts and republish them. The user will receive a reminder email one month before the post expires, after which they can extend its validity.  

The user is responsible for ensuring that their use of the service does not produce, send, store, or otherwise process content that violates good practice, the law, or authorities' regulations.  

If the user violates these terms of use, they may be liable to compensate for the resulting damage. Additionally, violations of the terms of use may lead to criminal legal consequences under the provisions of the Data Protection Act (1050/2018) Section 26, Chapter 34, Section 9a of the Criminal Code (540/2007), and Chapter 37, Section 11 of the Criminal Code (514/2003). 

Termination of service use 

The user has the right to stop using the service at any time. They can either remove their own access rights or request the administrator to do so.   

As a general rule, access to the online service remains valid until the user removes their access or requests its removal. When the user deletes their account or requests its removal, they can no longer log into the fintegrate.fi service. The service's technical administrator removes user accounts on a monthly basis. Additionally, the administrator will anonymize the user's data stored in the service.  

Any posts made by the user in the fintegrate.fi service will remain in the service unless the user has deleted them.  

After the removal of access rights, the encryption and protection of the user's data will be governed by the legislation that is in force at that time. 

Collection of visitor data 

The administrator may collect information about how and when the online service is used, such as which pages the user has visited before entering the service or what type of browser the user is using. The collected data is anonymous and is not linked to an individual user. The purpose of collecting this data is to analyze the usage of the online service and improve it so that it better serves users.  

In the fintegrate.fi online service, personal data is also used to respond to feedback provided by users. When the user submits their email address, they consent to its storage so that the administrator can contact them and respond to the feedback.  

Recommended browsers 

The service can be used with the latest versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Safari, and Mozilla Firefox. The appearance of the service may differ when using older versions of these browsers or less common browsers.  Additionally, some features of the service may not be accessible.  

Other terms 

The fintegrate.fi online service contains links and connections to third-party websites. The terms of use of those websites apply to these services.  

This service is governed by the laws of Finland between the administrator and the user. Any disputes between the administrator and the user regarding this service will be resolved in the District Court of Helsinki.