The rising European tech hub will see a new addition to its portfolio after a major Chinese social media platform said it intended to build a new facility following previous joint efforts and measures to boost data privacy amid accusations of malfeasance from Washington.

TikTok will build a $500m data centre in Ireland to store data for European users, the company announced on Thursday.

The roughly €420m facility will be the first in Europe, creating "hundreds of new jobs" and strengthening security for user data as well as boosting load times for users, the company said.'

According to the company, plans began after establishing an EMEA Trust and Safety Hub in Dublin earlier this year in a bid to boost company policy along with "local culture and context".

Similar hubs were launched in the San Francisco Bay Area in the US and Singapore.

“TikTok’s decision to establish its first European data centre in Ireland, representing a substantial investment here by the company, is very welcome and, following on from the establishment of its EMEA Trust & Safety Hub in Dublin earlier in the year, positions Ireland as an important location in the company’s global operations,” IDA Ireland CEO Martin Shanahan said.

The news comes after US president Donald Trump threatened to ban the app across the US in late July, citing national security risks, in a move echoing similar actions against Shenzhen-based tech giant Huawei and other Chinese firms.

President Trump demanded that TikTok parent company ByteDance sell its US branch to Microsoft or other domestic firm and give a "significant portion" of the purchase to the US Treasury. The Chinese company is also in talks with other Five Eyes nations such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand to sell its branches to Microsoft.

Australian prime minister Scott Morrison said at a major security forum this week that he saw 'no evidence' of data abuse in the popular social media platform and that Canberra had "a good look" at potential security threats. Chinese ambassador to the US, Ciu Tiankai, slammed Trump's comments, stating that forcing the TikTok sale would violate US free market principles.

https://sputniknews.com/science/202008061080083485-tiktok-to-build-first-euro-data-centre-worth-500m-in-ireland-amid-trump-trade-war-microsoft-talks/