TikTok is trying to allay privacy fears in Europe

LONDON (AP) — TikTok on Wednesday introduced new measures to protect the data of its users in Europe, in a bid to prevent more governments from banning their employees from using the Chinese-owned app on their phones. professionals.

The company seeks to create “a secure enclave for European user data,” Theo Bertram, vice president of European government relations, said in a blog post. TikTok will limit access to user data in a process overseen by external auditors, and will also strengthen privacy protections.

TikTok is under pressure in Europe, the United States and other countries over fears it could harm national security or the privacy of its users. Western officials fear that the Chinese government could use parent company ByteDance to spread pro-government propaganda or disinformation.

The executive arm of the European Union, its Parliament and its Council have ordered staff to remove TikTok from all devices used for official business, as have the federal government and some states of the United States, the Ministry of Defense of the Denmark and Canada. .

A prominent EU official has also warned TikTok’s CEO that his company must adhere to the bloc’s strict regulations for online platforms.

Bertram gave more details on Wednesday about plans to store data on servers based in Europe, where strict rules apply for the protection of user information. The new data storage centers will be managed by third parties, who have not been identified.

The tactic is similar to that used by TikTok in 2020, when it partnered with database software company Oracle to escape a ban from President Donald Trump’s administration.

TikTok will establish a second data center in Dublin and a third in Norway’s Hamar region, Bertram said. The company previously said it would establish its first European data center in Ireland and last month said it would add two more, without giving details.

In the United States, TikTok stores all of its data on servers controlled by Oracle, although it also has its own backup warehouses in the United States and Singapore. The company says it will delete user data on servers in the United States, but did not specify when.