Ammo manufacturer can't make extra artillery shells because TikTok data center is using...

midian182

Posts: 9,760   +121
Staff member
WTF?! TikTok often makes headlines over claims that its user data is shared with the Chinese government, but it seems the company is also having an unintended (or possibly intended) impact on one of Europe's largest ammunition manufacturers.

Nammo, an ammo manufacturer co-owned by the Norwegian government and a Finnish state-controlled defense company, cannot meet the increasing demand for its artillery rounds because a local data center, whose primary customer is TikTok, is using all the electricity in the region, preventing a planned expansion of Nammo's factory.

"We are concerned because we see our future growth is challenged by the storage of cat videos," Morten Brandtzæg, Nammo chief executive, told the Financial Times.

Brandtzæg said demand for the company's artillery shells has surged to 15 times higher than usual, a result of the war in Ukraine. He said the country wants to increase the daily number of rounds it uses from 6,000 to 65,000 as it fights Russian forces.

Elvia, the local energy company, said that the network had no spare capacity as it works on a first-come, first-served basis and had promised it to the data center. Brandtzæg believes governments should prioritize electricity for certain industries. "Critical industry must have access to energy," he said. "I don't think it's a one-off, I think it's a trend for the future."

The fact that China has never publicly condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine and leader Xi Jinping recently met with Vladimir Putin in Moscow to cement the two countries' relationship has raised questions over whether this was unintentional on TikTok's part.

"I will not rule out that it's not by pure coincidence that this activity is close to a defense company," Brandtzæg said. "I can't rule it out."

There are plans for more TikTok data centers in Norway as the nation offers cheap electricity and a cold climate for keeping cooling costs down. It plans to build what will be the largest data center campus in Norway, with a capacity of up to 150MW, by November 2023. The facility (above) will be fully powered by renewable energy, primarily from hydropower.

It's been a difficult month for TikTok in the US. The White House threw its support behind a Senate bill that would enable the country to ban TikTok, something the Biden administration has threatened to do if ByteDance doesn't sell it to someone outside of China.

Masthead: NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization

Permalink to story.

 
Omfg, they think tiktok is being used as a tactic to harm arms manufacturing?

I really hope the aliens don't judge us to harshly when they discover our relics after we off ourselves at some point in the future.

"and if you look out the portal to the left you'll see the ancient planet once known as earth, its greatest species had a fascination with self harm, which is now why the planet is silent..."
 
You know, maybe if europe had been building nuclear power plants to make themselves independent instead of building everything around the export of gas from their ideological, and very hostile, opponents, maybe, JUST maybe, this wouldnt be an issue.

If a data center for cat videos can shut down your artillery plant your grid is beyond hopeless.
Just band Tik Tok once and for all. Society will be better for it.
And while you are at it, do the same for Facebook.
Ban all social media. The internet was way more fun when everything was forums and wikis and fan sites. This internet blows.
 
From Avengers - Endgame:

make-love.png
 
A ten fold increase of -daily- munition usage (Which would have to be matched with increased manufacturing) is not a small amount expansion, I wonder if the grid would have even been able to comfortably handle it without the datacenter already eating up power.

Even still as much as I despise cringy shortform media in general (and especially audio/dubover memes and react videos), I'd rather have a massive storage site of cat videos (the superior subject of internet entertainment) than the ability to produce enough artillery shells to erase grids of a map on a daily basis.

I say all that knowing that I do not live in or around Eastern Europe so my opinion is heavily skewed for not being directly impacted by the conflict on a personal or emotional level.
 
You know, maybe if europe had been building nuclear power plants to make themselves independent instead of building everything around the export of gas from their ideological, and very hostile, opponents, maybe, JUST maybe, this wouldnt be an issue.

If a data center for cat videos can shut down your artillery plant your grid is beyond hopeless.

Ban all social media. The internet was way more fun when everything was forums and wikis and fan sites. This internet blows.
Too true!
 
So, TikTok is actually doing something good! It's slowing down the production of deadly weapons! :laughing:

I don't see why this article has a negative view of this. The one thing that this world needs less of is live munitions. Cat videos don't result in funerals.
 
Because 65,000 warheads won't harm a soul.......
Yes Social Media is mostly trash, however I've caught so many important happening(s) weeks before any major news outlet covers it, if at all for that matter. TikTok is beautiful in that sense. Interesting times in which we live. Hold on tight good people of the world.
 
"and if you look out the portal to the left you'll see the ancient planet once known as earth, its greatest species had a fascination with self harm, which is now why the planet is silent..."

"Please remember to put on your tinted visor, as you'll see that the planet quite literally glows thanks to the sheer level of nuclear radiation in the atmosphere. The primitive weapons they used left the planet heavily irradiated, and even after all this time it still cannot sustain life."
 
Just band Tik Tok once and for all. Society will be better for it.
And while you are at it, do the same for Facebook.
I'd like to see Fakebook, Twitter, Tik-Tok, Instagram ALL go away.
But, it would be interesting to see kids today scream in anger over
not seeing the latest celebrity tweet, influencer video.
 
They failed to mention the impact of "green energy" and the stubborn refusal to build new gas/coal/nuclear power plants. If you're cutting it so close that a purveyor of "cat videos" keeps them out of business, maybe you need to add capacity - which is never even mentioned! DUMB!
 
"Please remember to put on your tinted visor, as you'll see that the planet quite literally glows thanks to the sheer level of nuclear radiation in the atmosphere. The primitive weapons they used left the planet heavily irradiated, and even after all this time it still cannot sustain life."
Homo "sapiens" has become too sapient for its own good. We over think everything. It leaves us with the arduous process of deciding things like, "which one 'true god', to pray at". Or, "what sex am I"?

I say, "let all those nukes fly", it's high time we gave the cockroaches their turn at running the planet.
 
Last edited:
This is not just a Nordic problem - it's all over the world - it's not just electricity

Remember crypto miners powering up old coal fire power stations - breath that air baby.

Local govt giving some big corp - huge water rights to local water 20x use of local towns - they stuff off when water table too low and or polluted

Here in NZ Tiwai Point aluminium smelter uses 13% of NZ electricity from hydro at a cheap rate - owned by Rio Tinto - not exactly a mum and pa company

You probably have something like it in your backyard
 
So, TikTok is actually doing something good! It's slowing down the production of deadly weapons! :laughing:
Well, FWIW, China is in the process of a massive military buildup. They don't have to worry about an energy shortage, since they can, (and are), buying oil and gas from their BFF Russia, at a deep discount. Plus, moving their servers out of country, places less strain on their domestic electric needs.

Meanwhile, the west is being placated, diverted, and amused into submission, with cat videos, video games, and Tik-toc challenges.

The west needs to wake up, put down the game controllers, and take some sage advice from Sun Tzu, "if you want peace, prepare for war".
 
Why dont they just throw some solar panels on the roof of the factory? They produce loads of power and have no downsides! Maybe put a few batteries in as well so they can run all night!

You are joking right, because you have some likes on this comment and I don’t think they think you are joking.

Factories use far in excess of what a rooftop of panels will provide.
 
Back