TikTok expands European footprint with new €1bn data centre in Finland

TikTok has announced plans to invest €1 billion ($1.16 billion) in a second data centre in Finland, as the company accelerates efforts to localise data storage for its European users.

The new facility will be built in Lahti, southern Finland, with an initial capacity of 50 megawatts (MW) and the potential to scale up to 128 MW.

The project forms part of TikTok’s broader €12 billion European data sovereignty initiative, aimed at strengthening protections for more than 200 million users across the region.

Owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance, TikTok has been under increasing scrutiny in both the United States and Europe over data privacy and security concerns.

The latest investment comes just months after ByteDance avoided a potential US ban earlier this year, while European regulators continue to tighten rules on social media platforms, particularly around child safety and algorithmic transparency.

Finland has emerged as a key destination for data centre investments, attracting global players such as Microsoft and Google.

The country offers a combination of cold climate conditions, affordable low-carbon energy, and a stable regulatory environment within the European Union — all factors that help reduce operational costs and support sustainability goals.

However, TikTok’s expansion in Finland has not been without controversy. Concerns were raised by Finnish politicians last year when details of the company’s first data centre project surfaced.

Wille Rydman, then minister of economic affairs, publicly called for the project to be reconsidered, citing national security risks and a lack of transparency.

Despite the criticism, Finland’s defence ministry approved the initial project in 2024. TikTok’s first Finnish data centre, located in Kouvola, is expected to become operational by the end of this year, while the newly announced Lahti facility is slated for completion by 2027.

TikTok said European user data is currently stored across facilities in Norway, Ireland, and the United States, with enhanced safeguards in place.

The expansion into Finland underscores the company’s ongoing push to reassure regulators and users about data protection, even as scrutiny of global tech firms continues to intensify.