TikTok has made another big move in its layout in Europe. This short video giant has just confirmed that it will invest 1 billion euros to build a second data center in the southern Finnish city of Lahti. Reuters first broke the news, less than a year after announcing its first project in Finland, and the pace has noticeably accelerated.

1 billion euros big move to lock in Lahti

The new data center is located in Lahti, with an initial capacity of 50 megawatts and plans to expand to 128 megawatts in the future. TikTok has stated that this is part of their € 12 billion "European Data Sovereignty Plan", with the core objective of locking the data of over 200 million European users and implementing industry-leading protection measures. After all, European governments are now closely monitoring social media platforms, especially concerned that recommendation algorithms may "hook" teenagers too tightly. TikTok, which just evaded the US ban in January, clearly wants to play the safety card louder in Europe.

Mayor Nico Quinnarinen of Lahti is quite excited, stating that this is a huge investment, and the main tenant agreements have been signed, so the project is progressing smoothly.

The political controversy has never ceased

However, the money spent is not without controversy. Last year, TikTok caused a stir when it built its first data center in Kuvola, Finland. Although the Finnish Ministry of Defense approved it in 2024, several politicians roast that they did not receive the news in advance. At that time, the Minister of Economic Affairs, Willie Redman, publicly stated that due to the opaque disclosure of TikTok information, the project would need to be re evaluated, and even called on local real estate developers to "reconsider whether they really want to rent it out".

This security concern is not unreasonable. At present, TikTok's European user data exists in Norway, Ireland, and the United States. Although there are increased security measures, no one can guarantee it in the current geopolitical tension. The center of Kuvola is expected to operate by the end of 2026, while that of Lahti will not be available until 2027.

Finland has become a 'hot commodity'

Why are giants like TikTok, Microsoft, and Google flocking to Finland? Data does not lie. Mordor Intelligence predicts that the size of the Finnish data center market will skyrocket from 0.74 gigawatts in 2025 to 2.97 gigawatts in 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of over 32%. Keywords: international news, big data center

The reason is simple: the cold weather saves money on server cooling; Green electricity is abundant and meets low-carbon requirements; Low operating costs and favorable policies. Combined with the regulatory environment of the European Union, Finland is now a 'golden land' for data centers. TikTok's move is not only for compliance, but also for recognizing the infrastructure dividends here.Editor/Cheng Liting