Kouvola’s Mayor Marita Toikka sealing the time capsule at the new data center site


A cornerstone ceremony in Kouvola marked the start of construction on a new data center that will host TikTok's European user data in Finland. The project is part of TikTok's ongoing investment in Project Clover and a major step in strengthening local data security.

The event brought together national and regional leaders, including Kouvola Mayor Marita Toikka and Ville Kaunisto, Chair of the Kouvola City Council and Member of Parliament, who underlined the importance of the investment for Finland and Europe. A time capsule containing a newspaper, blueprints and a mobile phone was placed under the cornerstone as a symbol of Finland's pioneering role in digital technology.

Boost for Kouvola and Finland

The €1 billion investment will provide a major boost to Kouvola's economy. More than a thousand people are expected to be employed during peak construction, with around 200 permanent jobs once the facility is fully operational.

Kouvola's Mayor Marita Toikka said:

"The data center project is not only a significant part of Finland’s growing role as a responsible builder of European data infrastructure, but also an extremely important initiative for Kouvola in terms of regional vitality. The center is expected to bring a substantial number of jobs and tax revenue to the area, and above all create a vibrant digital ecosystem that enables collaboration with other local companies as well as the research and education sectors."

Strengthening European data security

The data center will be part of Project Clover, TikTok's €12 billion initiative which provides some of the most stringent data protections for European user data anywhere in the industry. Once fully operational, it will support the default storage of European user data within our secure European Enclave, expanding our capacity to manage data locally while meeting the highest standards of security and oversight. Like TikTok's other European data centres, such as the major data center in Hamar, Norway, the Kouvola facility will become part of TikTok's European data enclave, which is subject to strict access control and independent oversight by NCC Group, a global leader in cybersecurity. These systems are designed to go beyond regulatory expectations, ensuring the integrity and privacy of our community's data.

The Kouvola project reflects Finland's strong digital infrastructure, clean energy mix and skilled technology talent, making it an ideal location for secure data operations, ensuring that protections for our 200 million European users continue to evolve in step with regulatory expectations and technological change.

Project Clover at a glance

  • TikTok has engaged with NCC Group to independently oversee, check, and verify our data controls and protections, monitor data flows, provide independent verification and report any anomalies.
  • TikTok's European user data is stored by default in a dedicated European data enclave, hosted across data centers in Europe and the US.
  • Strict access controls enforced by security gateways ensure that employees in China have no access to restricted data, such as phone numbers or IP addresses, stored in our European enclave.
  • Advanced privacy-enhancing technologies de-identify certain data that needs to flow globally to operate a global platform, further protecting data.

*European' refers to EEA countries, the UK, and Switzerland.