A fierce controversy is raging in Finland over the level of remuneration for private copying – mainly because the government wants to drastically reduce it. According to a study from the creative industry, this remuneration for authors and other rights holders should be significantly increased. This is because private copying has by no means disappeared; on the contrary, the economic importance of the use of cultural content through storage and streaming services has increased. This is why the "Don't Let Culture Disappear" campaign is calling on politicians to maintain fair remuneration for private copying. Finland is the only EU member state that pays this remuneration from the state budget. Until 2015, Finland had a system for a targeted flat-rate levy on devices and storage media that was linked to the actual production of private copies.

The controversy highlights several weaknesses in the remuneration for private copies from the state budget. Even a sudden change in the level of remuneration has a negative impact on the creative industry because it undermines options for action and planning security. Above all, however, the remuneration in this situation is in no way linked to the actual use of copyrighted works but rather to political discretion and fiscal leeway. However, remuneration for private copying is not a voluntary form of cultural promotion and is instead based on the EU Directive on Copyright in the Information Society and the Copyright Act. As early as 2018, an expert report called for the reintroduction of a device levy system, at least as a supplement to state funding.

A hybrid system is now being discussed again, which would be unique in the EU.

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