TikTok to Open First European Data Centre in Ireland 1mrb Technology News

Under fire from US President Donald Trump over national security risks, TikTok is in talks with Microsoft about selling its US operations. 473v4h

By Reuters | Updated: 6 August 2020 15:23 IST

TikTok to Open First European Data Centre in Ireland

Ireland is one of Europe's biggest hubs for data centres v6i1d

Highlights

The data centre in Ireland will create hundreds of new jobs
It will enable faster loading time and safely store European data
ByteDance said it was considering moving TikTok's headquarters overseas

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Chinese-owned video app TikTok, facing the threat of a US ban, said on Thursday it will set up its first European data centre in Ireland, extending its presence in the country where it already has a hub dealing with regional regulatory issues.

The move comes days after parent company TikTok's headquarters overseas, following a British media report that the unit could relocate to London.

TikTok's EUR 420 million (roughly Rs. 3,728 crores) investment in Ireland comes at a fraught time in relations between China and the West, with disagreements on a range of issues from trade and the handling of the coronavirus to the political situation in Hong Kong.

TikTok's Journey From Global Sensation to Trump Target

US President Microsoft.

Ireland is one of Europe's biggest hubs for data centres and already hosts operations for major technology companies such as Google.

TikTok's data centre will create hundreds of jobs, enhance TikTok's global capability and signals its long-term commitment to Ireland, global chief information security officer Roland Cloutier wrote in a blog post.

TikTok Grab Could Extend -- or Undermine -- US Online Dominance

Foreign firms directly for one in 10 Irish jobs, attracted by a low corporate tax rate. TikTok's "Trust and Safety Hub", set up in Dublin in January, deals with regulators and governments in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

It also moved its privacy oversight of European s to Ireland in June and TikTok said its Irish and UK entities will take over from its US business in managing and safeguarding the personal data of its European s.

"TikTok's decision to establish its first European data centre in Ireland is very welcome and positions Ireland as an important location in the company's global operations," Martin Shanahan, head of the Irish state agency charged with attracting foreign investment, said in a statement.

© Thomson Reuters 2020

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