Overview
- TikTok will build a new data center in Lahti, Finland, investing €1 billion for 50 MW at launch with the potential to scale to 128 MW, with operations targeted for 2027.
- The expansion follows ByteDance avoiding a U.S. ban in January and comes as European governments push social platforms to tighten data and child‑safety protections.
- The company says the Lahti project is part of its €12 billion European data sovereignty program designed to protect data for more than 200 million users.
- TikTok says European user data now sits in facilities in Norway, Ireland, and the U.S., with its first Finnish site in Kouvola due online by the end of this year and the Lahti site next.
- Finland approved TikTok’s first project through the defence ministry in 2024, drawing later criticism from some politicians over security and openness, while Lahti’s mayor welcomed the investment and confirmed a signed main‑tenant deal.