TikTok plans two additional data storage centers in Europe

Feb. 17 (UPI) -- TikTok said Friday it's working to open two new data centers in Europe to expand data storage capacity in addition to one the company announced last year.

TikTok Europe General Manager Rich Waterworth said in a statement that the social media company was "at an advanced stage" of finalizing a plan for a second data center in Ireland through a third-party service provider.

"We're also in talks to establish a third data center in Europe to further complement our planned operations in Ireland. European TikTok user data will begin migrating this year, continuing into 2024," Waterworth said.

TikTok also said the company, which has 150 million users throughout Europe, said it remains focused on "building trust with our community by demonstrating to them that their data is secure."

Waterworth said transparency is important to build trust that TikTok user data is safe amid growing calls to ban the app as a potential national security risk in the United States, as it is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance.

"We'll continue to enhance external visibility of the work we do to protect our community, including by opening our physical European Transparency and Accountability Center in Dublin next month, where expert audiences will be able to learn more about our work to keep people on TikTok safe," Waterworth said.

He said TikTok is further reducing employee access to European user data, minimizing data flows outside of Europe and storing European user data locally.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will be grilled about data security practices in the United States in March in testimony before Congress. Among the concerns raised will be the company's link to the Chinese Communist Party and the effects of the app on children.