TikTok to spend $500 million on first EU data center in Ireland

TikTok, the embattled video-sharing app that’s found itself at the center of Washington-Beijing tensions, is setting up its first data center in Europe with a 420 million euros ($500 million) investment in Ireland, the company announced.

Promising to create hundreds of jobs, improve “the safeguarding and protection of TikTok user data” and shorten loading times for users in Europe, the new data center is expected to be operational by early 2022. Once it goes online, European user data will be stored at that location, TikTok said. The outfit established its EMEA Trust and Safety Hub in Dublin earlier in the year and said the new investment “signals our long-term commitment to Ireland.”