TikTok plans a second €1B data center in Finland as part of a €12B European data sovereignty initiative

TikTok announced a €1B investment in a second Finnish data center in Lahti with an initial capacity of 50 megawatts, less than a year after announcing its first Finnish facility in Kouvola, as part of what the company calls a €12B European data sovereignty initiative covering more than 200 million European users. The announcement comes despite security concerns raised by Finnish politicians last year when Reuters revealed the first Finland data center, with the country's then-minister of economic affairs calling for the project to be reconsidered due to a lack of transparency. Finland has become a hub for major data center investment from Microsoft and Google, drawn by its cold climate, low-cost and low-carbon electricity, and stable EU regulatory environment.