TikTok is going to invest another billion euros to build a second data centre in Finland.

TikTok indicated on Wednesday that it planned to invest 1 billion euros in the construction of a second data centre in Finland, which was intended to relocate data storage by European users to the European continent, and that its first data centre plan for Finland had been published less than a year. At the time of its release, European countries were increasing their efforts to pressure social media companies to protect children from the effects of addictive algorithms.

TikTok states that this new investment of Euro1 billion will be used to build a data centre in the southern city of Lahti, Finland, with an initial capacity of 50 MW and a total potential capacity of 128 MW. According to Reuters, this investment is part of TikTok’s €12 billion data sovereignty programme, which aims to provide industry-led protection of data for more than 200 million European users. Because of its cold climate, low-cost and low-carbon electricity, and a stable and commercially friendly regulatory environment within the EU, Finland has become a hot ground for investment in data centres, where companies like Microsoft and Google have sought to control energy costs and achieve climate targets. However, in April last year Finnish politicians were vigilant when Reuters revealed plans for TikTok ‘ s first Finnish data centre. Although this investment was approved by the Finnish Ministry of Defence in 2024, politicians were not informed of it.

The then Minister of Emergency Affairs of Finland, Ville Ludman, called for a “reconsideration” of the project last year, citing security concerns and lack of transparency in the company’s plans. Vel Ruedman then told the Finnish Public Broadcasting Corporation that he hoped that the local real estate development company would reconsider whether it really wanted TikTok to become its client. TikTok indicated that its European user data were currently stored at the third data centre in Norway, Ireland and the United States and that enhanced protective measures had been introduced. Its first data centre in Kovora, Finland, is expected to be operational by the end of this year, while its second data centre is scheduled to be operational by 2027.

The mayor of Lahti welcomed the new investment decision. In his statement, the mayor of the city of Lahti, Niko Qinalein, said: “In Lahti, this investment is huge. We are pleased that the main lease agreement has been signed and that the project is proceeding as planned.”