TikTok сonfirms €1 billion data centre project in Finland

TikTok has confirmed plans to invest €1 billion ($1.14 billion) in building its first data centre in Finland, part of a broader initiative to localise the storage of European user data on the continent.

A company spokesman confirmed the move on May 1 but declined to provide further details, following a Reuters report citing two sources familiar with the matter.

The Finnish Prime Minister’s Office has not yet commented on the development.

Owned by China-based ByteDance, TikTok has been under increasing scrutiny in Europe and the US over concerns that the Chinese government could access user data. The Finland project marks another step in TikTok’s ongoing effort to reassure regulators by expanding its European data infrastructure.

In 2023, TikTok launched a data security framework dubbed Project Clover, pledging €12 billion in investments over a decade to strengthen data governance amid intensifying political and regulatory pressure. As part of this initiative, TikTok opened its first data centre in Norway earlier this month, after breaking ground on the project in 2023.

TikTok currently stores European user data across facilities in Ireland, Norway, and the US, within what it calls a “dedicated European data enclave.” The platform, which boasts over 175 million users across Europe, is expected to announce additional data centre projects in the region in the coming years.

Meanwhile, several EU institutions — including the European Parliament and the European Commission — have banned TikTok from official staff devices, citing privacy risks. In the US, lawmakers have threatened a nationwide ban unless ByteDance divests its US operations. TikTok has dismissed these concerns as “misguided” and rooted in misinformation.

The choice of Finland reflects a wider trend among tech giants seeking data centre sites in Nordic countries, which offer key advantages such as low temperatures, helping to reduce cooling costs, and access to cheap, carbon-free electricity.

“Finland is definitely one of the places where we’re continuing to build out our infrastructure,” said Microsoft President Brad Smith on Wednesday during a speech in Brussels. “It has a strong supply of carbon-free energy and excellent connectivity, making it a strategic location to serve much of Europe.”

According to Veijo Terho, chairman of the Finnish Data Centre Association, over 20 new data centres are currently planned in Finland, representing a total investment value of around €13 billion and a capacity of 1.3 gigawatts.

By Tamilla Hasanova