TikTok's Finland data center sparks U.S. tech security fears
Wille Rydman, the Finnish Minister of Economic Affairs, warned that the construction of a TikTok data center in Finland may jeopardize relations with the U.S. by potentially giving China access to American microchips. According to Rydman, the investment will offer limited benefits to Finland.
Finnish Minister of Economic Affairs Wille Rydman expressed concerns about constructing a TikTok data center in southern Finland. He emphasized that building a server center for the Chinese social media platform raises significant problems, particularly regarding user data protection.
Furthermore, Rydman suggested that this investment could give the People's Republic of China access to American microchips, posing a threat to the "strategic industrial and research cooperation with the U.S."
At the end of Joe Biden's term, the United States decided to restrict the export of advanced Nvidia processors to several countries. China and Russia were subjected to a total ban to prevent their use for military purposes. As one of the U.S.'s "most trusted" partners, Finland is exempt from these restrictions.
Risk to cooperation with the U.S
Rydman highlighted the risk that China might use data centers worldwide, formally leased by TikTok, to gain access to advanced technologies.
In this context, he expressed that building a TikTok data center in Finland may yield few advantages but could cause severe damage.
As reported by Finnish television Yle, the TikTok data center construction project was under wraps for over half a year. The Finnish government became aware of the investment only at the end of April, after issuing the first building permit and purchasing the land.
The center will be located in Kouvola, and the Finnish development company Hyperco will manage its construction. TikTok, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, will be the primary user of the facility.
The Polish Press Agency reminds us that the Finnish National Assembly and the Council of Ministers previously banned TikTok usage on their employees' work devices.
