Chinese short video platform, TikTok, has acquired a data facility in Norway from data centre group Green Mountain AS, as the company commits to storing data generated in the region locally.
The Bytedance-owned app has faced scrutiny and restrictions in various countries, including bans on staff phones in several nations, the European Parliament, and the European Commission, due to concerns over data privacy and security. The new data centre will become TikTok’s largest in Europe, signifying that the company is serious about addressing concerns about the the Chinese government having potential access to European citizens’ data.
To build trust and mitigate skepticism, TikTok is implementing a comprehensive approach to data security. Theo Bertram, TikTok’s VP of Government Relations and Public Policy, explained. He added that “we understand the scepticism. And that’s precisely why we’re not just doing the step of putting the data in Europe, building that digital barrier around it. We are taking the extra step of saying we know you’re sceptical about us, and so we know we have to earn that trust.”
TikTok introduced Project Clover in March, a data security regime focused on establishing data centres and locally storing user data in Europe. The newly acquired data centre in Hamar, Norway, will consist of three buildings, with the first phase expected to commence operations in the summer of the following year.
Key features of the Norway data centre include it running entirely on renewable energy and generating heat that can be repurposed. TikTok aims to collaborate with a third-party provider to explore potential projects in various industries and research institutions that can benefit from reusing this heat.
As part of Project Clover, which the company launched earlier this year to safeguard user data, TikTok plans to spend 12 billion euros over the next decade, covering the construction of three data centres, the implementation of privacy-enhancing technologies, and the engagement of British cybersecurity firm, NCC, for auditing data controls and providing independent verification.