TikTok pledges €12B European investment over 10 years as work on Norwegian data center begins

TikTok says it will spend €12 billion as part of an ongoing push to ingratiate itself with European regulators, with the company beginning work on its previously-announced Norwegian data center.

The short-form social video company has been working hard these past few years to convince the world that it’s not beholden to its parent company ByteDance in China, efforts not helped by revelations last year that China-based employees could access data for users in Europe and the U.S.

However, TikTok has made a swathe of commitments that strive to address concerns over its data-harnessing practices in light of Europe’s Digital Services Act (DSA). These commitments have been bundled under an initiative it calls Project Clover, which includes opening local data centers in Europe and introducing new data access and control processes.

Data migration

The company’s promised €12 billion investment spans the next 10 years, and includes funding not only for three data centers, but ongoing work with a third-party security company called NCC Group which it previously announced would carry out audits on its data controls and practices.

After many delays, TikTok started shifting European user data to its first data center in Ireland back in September, a process it said it expects complete by the end of 2024. It also revealed plans for a second data center in Ireland, plus a third in the Hamar region of Norway — one that will apparently run on 100% renewable energy.

According to TikTok, it has now taken possession of the first of three buildings at the site, and it will begin installing servers with a view toward migrating European users’ data from next summer. The additional two buildings will follow shortly after.