The executives of TikTok are busy rolling out data protection mechanisms amid fears of getting banned on government devices across the world. The first stop for executives of video-sharing apps will be London, where they will persuade European politicians that the company is committed to ensuring user data protection.
Plans to establish two data centers for data protection
In today’s BNN breaking news, the executives of TikTok briefed their data protection plans to the political advisers in the UK on Monday. They also briefed their data protection plans for users in Europe to policymakers and other think tanks. The project clover refers to Ireland’s well-known symbol. TikTok already announced plans to establish two data centers in Ireland where it will store the data of users in Europe as part of its data protection efforts.
Project Texas to protect the data of American users
TikTok also unveiled Project Texas to protect the data of users in the US. The video-sharing app is facing the wrath of several governments worldwide, including those in Canada, Europe, and the US, amid fears of data leaks. The federal government in the US has banned the use of TikTok on government devices. A similar ban is imposed on TikTok in Canada and the European Union. According to lawmakers in these nations, the Chinese government could force ByteDance-owned TikTok to share the data of its users or may use it to promote propaganda.
TikTok said it is committed to protecting the data of its users and won’t comply with the demands of the Chinese government in the future. The company has unveiled Project Clover and Project Texas in this direction to allay the fears of various governments across the world about data leaks to the Chinese government.
Australia and the UK have not implemented a ban on TikTok on government devices
The two US allies, the UK and Australia, have so far not banned the use of TikTok on government-owned devices. In a chat with British policymakers on Monday, the executives of TikTok said the company implemented transparent policies and maintained oversight over the data of its users just like Facebook.
Those who attended the briefing by TikTok executives in the UK said the efforts taken by the video-sharing app to protect user data are appreciable. However, they are doubtful about the capability of TikTok to refuse the order of the Chinese government to share the data of its users.
A spokesman for TikTok on Monday said it will soon reveal data security measures that will be implemented in Europe. The executives from TikTok engaged in the briefing include Erich Andersen, a general counsel based in the US. They said all the data of European users will be stored in the services on the European continent.
TikTok’s executives also said it will hire the services of a third-party company in Europe to oversee its European operations and prevent the unauthorized transfer of data. According to the latest worldnews, Oracle Corp. would monitor the changes recommended to its videos. The recent stint in the UK on data protection is against the backdrop of similar efforts initiated in the US. The US Congress is planning to ban TikTok for all users.