As a part of “Undertaking Clover”, which TikTok introduced earlier this yr, TikTok’s working to make sure that all E.U. person knowledge stays within the E.U., versus being transferred again to TikTok’s Chinese language servers, whereas it’s additionally implementing new third-party verification over its knowledge practices and processes.

TikTok says that it’s making progress on every, with its first knowledge middle in Dublin now operational, whereas development of two new E.U. knowledge facilities, based mostly in Norway and Eire, is now underway.

TikTok had hoped to have its Dublin knowledge middle up and operating final yr, however confronted delays in development. However it’s now functioning as anticipated, which can make sure that E.U. TikTok person knowledge stays within the E.U., addressing a key concern about its working practices.

Very like the U.S., European regulators have raised issues that TikTok knowledge could possibly be accessed by the Chinese language Authorities, based mostly on the C.C.P.’s strict cybersecurity legal guidelines, which basically require Chinese language-owned corporations to share their person knowledge with the Chinese language Authorities on request. Within the U.S. TikTok can also be within the course of of creating native knowledge middle and verification partnerships, in an effort to preserve person knowledge home, although issues stay as to how precisely TikTok father or mother firm ByteDance will have the ability to entry and use person knowledge shifting ahead.

And people issues might nonetheless see TikTok banned in America, with CFIUS nonetheless weighing a choice on the app.

E.U. regulators might additionally implement comparable, which is why TikTok’s additionally introduced its new E.U. cybersecurity companion, which can audit and monitor its practices.

As per TikTok:

“Now we have engaged a third-party European safety firm to independently audit our knowledge controls and protections, monitor knowledge flows, present impartial verification, and report any incidents. We’re happy to announce that NCC Group will conduct this oversight of our knowledge safety measures.”

TikTok says that NCC Group will monitor knowledge coming out and in of its safe atmosphere “to independently validate that solely authorized workers can entry restricted knowledge sorts”.

“NCC Group will carry out ongoing safety assessments of the brand new safety gateways we’re constructing round European person knowledge, the TikTok app, our knowledge centres, and different TikTok infrastructure. NCC Group may also function a managed safety companies supplier for our safety gateways, performing real-time monitoring to determine and reply to any suspicious or anomalous entry makes an attempt and supply assurance on the integrity of the improved safety controls operations.”

TikTok’s hoping that these new measures will assist to reassure E.U. regulators as to the security of its operations, which can then make sure that it may possibly proceed to function within the area, the place it serves over 150 million E.U. customers.

Information safety has turn into the important thing danger to TikTok’s ongoing prosperity, with potential restrictions seemingly the one factor prone to sluggish its development worldwide. Which is why TikTok is now taking these broad-ranging separation measures, although it stays to be seen whether or not all of this might be sufficient to make sure authorities really feel comfy about its separation from the C.C.P.

If these issues linger, then all the effort and time, and cash, that TikTok has dedicated to such tasks might be moot, but when it does nothing, it dangers shedding far more in potential income around the globe.