[Article publié le mardi 5 septembre 2023 à 14h38 et mis à jour 15h25] Given the distrust of governmentThe social network TikTok indicated on Tuesday September 5 that it had started to host the data of its European users in Ireland. » Our first data center in Dublin, Ireland is now operational and the migration of European user data to this center has already started, while our other two centers in Norway and Ireland are under construction. “, said the subsidiary of the Chinese giant ByteDance in a press release.

TikTok co-founder lost $17 billion in 2022

This transfer will continue until the end of 2024, when the three data centers will be operational. This project, called Clover and announced in March, represents an annual investment of 1.2 billion euros for TikTok. At the same time, the social network has partnered with the British cybersecurity company NCC Group. He will be responsible for creating an independent audit ” of the data protection implemented, of “ monitor data streams “And” report any incident “.

Protect European user data

Inspired by the measures imposed on the social network in the United States, these provisions aim to prevent ByteDance employees located in China from accessing ” protected data Europeans, TikTok officials said, in a conference call with reporters. This protected data includes the real names of users, their e-mail address, their telephone number or the IP address of their terminals, as well as personal data according to European regulations.

On the other hand, certain aggregated data, public or necessary for the interoperability of networks, will continue to circulate and be stored outside the continent. When asked, TikTok declined to share the percentage of data already transferred from its current data centers in the United States and Singapore.

TikTok, which has 150 million users in the United States and 134 million in the European Economic Area, demands full legal separation from its entities in China and has always categorically rejected any data sharing with Chinese authorities. But the parent company, ByteDance, had to admit in December 2022 that its employees had had access to the data of two American journalists during an internal investigation into the data leak.

Since then, countries like Australia, Belgium and Canada, as well as the European Commission, have banned the entertainment app on government employees’ work phones. The US state of Montana has announced an outright ban on the app, though that decision may be appealed.

» TikTok is currently not compliant with European law “on the respect of personal data”, because it turns out the data went through China “, AND ” still not quite consistent new European standards for major digital platforms from August 25, said Tuesday on Sud Radio the Minister Delegate for Digital, Jean-Noël Barrot.

Parliamentarians call for suspension in France

In July, French senators even asked the government to ” suspend TikTok in France and request a suspension within the EU “If the social network does not specify before January 1, 2024 the nature of its relations with the Chinese authorities and does not establish moderation” effective “and one” effective age control “.

Videos transferred by the app » could be biased in favor of the Chinese authorities eager to fuel riots that could damage the image of democracy “, had established the commission in its report. We strongly disagree with the conclusions of this report, which do not accurately reflect the facts. “, replied the social network to AFP. It is disappointing that the Commission has devoted so much time and resources to fighting the same misconceptions again and again. added.

During a press conference, André Gattolin (presidential majority), vice-president of the commission, expressed ” his total doubts about the viability of TikTok’s business model, suggesting that it is not an economic enterprise but a political enterprise with a vocation to capture personal data “.

Invoking the risks in terms of cybersecurity, these parliamentarians also wanted to extend the ban on its use in France – for the moment only to State agents – to all the staff of public or private operators. vital “.

Since then, TikTok has announced tools for researchers and regulators, a non-personalized News Feed, an end to targeted ads to minors, and a new option to report content. The French subsidiary has also decided to replace its Sino-Canadian president Zhao Tian with its director of global operations, the American Adam Presser.

(With AFP)