TikTok accidentally “blocked” an increase in ammunition supplies to Ukraine. It’s because of “cat movies”

The Norwegian-Finnish arms group Nammo (Nordic Ammunition Company) would like to increase the production of ammunition in response to the growing demand caused by the war in Ukraine. For now, however, it is unable to do so, and the direct reason is to be problems with electricity shortages.

Cannot increase ammo production. Because TikTok uses too much electricity

This follows from the words of Morten Brandtzæg, the head of Nammo, who blamed TikTok for blocking the company’s development in an interview with the British. The Scandinavian company, half-owned by the Norwegian government, plans to expand its largest factory (in central Norway), but the TikTok data center being built nearby was to stand in the way.

The planned opening of the center will significantly increase the consumption of electricity, which is obtained in this region mainly from a small hydropower plant. TikTok was the first to report the construction of its complex to the local authorities and reserve all the surplus energy that has occurred so far.

Data centers are usually very energy-intensive, which is why this part of Norway is expected to lack the electricity needed first to expand the Nammo factory, and then to increase the company’s production capacity. Increasing the efficiency of energy networks would be needed, and such actions will certainly take a long time.

The head of the Norwegian company notes that the demand for artillery shells today is as much as 15 times higher than before the war in Ukraine, and the European industry must invest as much as $2 billion in expanding production facilities to help meet the Ukrainian demand for ammunition. Like, the Ukrainians fire 6-7 thousand. rounds a day and are constantly short of ammunition.

CEO Nammo: Cat videos limit our growth

Director Nammo points out in an interview with “FT” that in such a situation he is afraid of the implementation of his company’s tasks. “We are concerned because we see our future growth being threatened by the need for storage [w chmurze] movies with cats – he says in the journal.

TikTok is trying to expand its own data centers in Europe to avoid allegations of data transfer to China. The Chinese social media app is currently grappling with a wave of security concerns in the US, European Union and several other countries. At the end of 2022, the Americans banned most of their politicians and officials from using the application on official devices. Similar steps were taken by the United Kingdom and the European Commission, and similar steps were taken by .

ByteDance, the company responsible for TikTok, is suspected by Western countries of collaborating with the Chinese government and transferring huge amounts of information collected from millions of phones around the world to the authorities in Beijing. However, the head of the platform, who was questioned in the US Congress last week, emphasized that TikTok is completely independent of the government in Beijing and does not provide any data to the Chinese authorities.