Social media giant TikTok told Yle that the company remains fully committed to the Kouvola project, despite political concerns over the company’s links to China.
"We have high expectations for this investment," said Christian Hannibal, TikTok’s head of public policy in Finland.
He said the facility under construction in Kouvola's Koria district will play a major role in TikTok’s European operations. It is part of the company’s 12-billion-euro 'Project Clover,' aimed at ensuring that European users’ data is stored and processed within Europe. Of this total, one billion euros is allocated to the Finnish data centre.
The other Project Clover data centres are located in Norway and Ireland and serve the same purpose — storing TikTok users' data.
This links to concerns raised by Finland’s Minister of Economic Affairs, Wille Rydman (Finns), who warned that China could potentially bypass US chip restrictions via the data centre in Finland.
Hannibal responded: "We emphasise that this data centre, like our others in Europe, is strictly for storing European user data, not for running AI systems."
In other words, high-performance microchips are not expected to be part of the facility.
TikTok informed government after signing lease
In addition to Rydman, Minister of Transport and Communications Lulu Ranne (Finns) has also raised concerns about TikTok’s ties to China. Finland’s national security agency Supo has warned that user data could be accessible to Chinese authorities.
TikTok is attempting to address these concerns by setting up European data centres and by allowing a third-party cybersecurity firm to audit its practices related to data storage and handling.
Hannibal acknowledged that distancing TikTok from its Chinese origins is challenging, as the company’s founders are Chinese.
He said TikTok has held talks with the Finnish government about the Kouvola project and formally informed the Ministry of Economic Affairs after signing the data centre’s lease.
Rydman has expressed disappointment that the state leadership was informed so late in the process.
However, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) has dismissed security concerns surrounding the planned data centre and said he was unaware of obstacles that would hinder the project.
"Of course, we’ve seen the public discussion on this, but we are very happy to continue the dialogue with the Ministry of Economic Affairs," Hannibal said.
According to Yle's investigative unit, the largest shareholder in the company overseeing the Kouvola data centre is Chinese businessman Huang Wei, who holds nearly 40 percent of shares.
TikTok not planning more data centres
According to Hannibal, TikTok chose Finland as the location for its new data centre due to the country’s infrastructure, skilled workforce, climate and diverse energy production.
Once completed, the Kouvola facility is expected to employ around 200 people, the company says. Earlier Finnish projections mentioned several hundred jobs, so TikTok’s figure falls within that range, albeit on the low end.
Not all roles may be filled locally.
"We don’t yet know the extent of the skills available in the Kouvola area, but we aim to hire locally," Hannibal said.
He also noted that TikTok currently has no plans for additional data centres in Finland or elsewhere in Europe.
