Prior to 1 January 1999, all indecent publishing, including the import and export thereof, was banned.
[2] This law was not interpreted as prohibiting the sale of porn magazines but some restrictions for the sold material prevailed.
This law was not applied very strictly but at times it led to police crackdowns to erotic stores.
Under Finnish law, it is illegal to possess, produce or distribute child pornography.
"Aggravated" distribution of child pornography depicting a child whom is (1) particularly young, (2) also subject to violence or particularly humiliating treatment, (3) the offence is committed in a particularly methodical manner or (4) the offence has been committed in the framework of a criminal organization; and is punishable by up to 6 years imprisonment.