Is TikTok safe for European users now that data is staying in Europe?

TikTok has more than a billion users worldwide and is widely used in the US and Europe, fuelling fears that Chinese authorities and secret services might use the app to collect information from users or to spread influence. — Photo: Marijan Murat/dpa

BRUSSELS: TikTok has responded to a spate of warnings from various governments to delete the short video app over privacy concerns and has rolled out a new policy assuring that European user data stays in Europe.

In a September announcement, the company said it has opened a new data centre in Ireland in a bid to ease fears in Europe about how user data could be accessed by China, and has begun transferring data from European users to the newly launched site.