TikTok Officially Controls Its Largest Data Center For Europe In Norway

TikTok stores European user data in the Norwegian data center. (photo: dock. pexels)

JAKARTA - TikTok has taken over facilities in Norway built by the US Green Mountain data center group, which will become the largest data center for the social media company in Europe. This is done, as it seeks to store the data generated in the region locally.

The company owned by Bytedance, which is based in China, has been trying to address concerns about whether the Chinese government can access the data of Europeans using TikTok.

Several countries, the European Parliament, the European Commission, and others have banned TikTok from their employee phones for their concerns.

"We understand such skepticism. And that's why we don't just take steps to put data in Europe, build digital barriers around it," Theo Total, Vice President of Government Relations and Public Policy TikTok told Reuters.

"We are taking extra steps by saying we know you are skeptical of us, and therefore we are aware we must gain that trust," he said.

TikTok in March launched a data security project called Project Clover to build data centers and store European user data locally.

The Norwegian data center will be in the city of Hamar where TikTok will store data spread across three buildings, and the first phase will start operating starting next summer.

This Norwegian data center will operate fully with renewable energy and generate reusable heat. TikTok says third-party providers are talking with various industries and research institutes for potential projects that could benefit from this level of reuse.

TikTok said it plans to spend 12 billion euros (IDR 203.3 trillion) over the next 10 years on Project Clover. Previously, the company had announced plans to spend 1.2 billion euros (20.3 trillion) annually.

The funds will include the construction costs of three data centers, the implementation of privacy-enhancing technologies, and to employ UK cybersecurity firm NCC to audit their data controls and provide independent verification.

"One of the things in the contract with the NCC is that they can go and talk to the data protection authorities, talk to national cybersecurity organizations, without us being involved," saidOC.