TikTok has announced plans to invest €1 billion ($1.14 billion) to build its first data center in Finland, as it moves to store data for European users within Europe. According to a TikTok spokesperson, this decision is part of the company's data security plan to ensure the protection of user data in Europe and other countries.
TikTok, owned by China’s ByteDance, has faced increasing concerns over data security and privacy in European countries in recent years. In 2023, the company launched a data security initiative called "Project Clover," with plans to invest €12 billion over the next 10 years.
Finland has become an attractive location for technology companies due to its cold climate and carbon-free energy supply. TikTok plans to build more data centers in Finland as part of this initiative. Similarly, companies like Microsoft and Meta have also been establishing data centers in Finland.
The new data center project by TikTok aims to serve European users more effectively, leveraging good network connectivity and the availability of affordable, clean energy. The company also seeks to meet security and reliability requirements in Europe by investing in local data infrastructure.
