Norway: Ammunition firm accuses TikTok data center of using too much power in Norway, preventing expansion

Nammo, one of the largest manufacturers of ammunition, co-owned by the Norwegian government and a Finnish state-controlled defense company, has claimed that it is being prevented from expansion, due to TikTok's data centers guzzling the electricity in the area. Elvia, the local energy company, has already reportedly promised the ByteDance-owned company energy on a first-come-first-serve basis. It is currently constructing three facilities this year, potentially looking to expand further with two more by 2025 in Hamar, east of Raufoss.

Nammo has outlined that since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, demand for ammunition has skyrocketed; reports claim 6,000 rounds are being used per day. Speaking to the Financial Times, Morten Brandtzæg, Nammo chief executive, said: "We are concerned because we see our future growth is challenged by the storage of cat videos."

Brandtzæg also inferred that the data center expansion was a method through which the company was trying to impact the war effort. He said could not rule out that it's not by "pure coincidence" that the activity of  Chinese-owned TikTok is close to a defense company. These claims are unsubstantiated.