Popular Chinese short video app, TikTok is on the news again but this time for a positive reason. According to a recent report, TikTok confirmed that it will transfer the responsibility for protecting the privacy of European users to its Irish and British branches.
Based on these changes, the service provider for users in the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland will be changed to TikTok’s Irish branch. Furthermore, the UK office will be responsible for providing services to UK users. In addition, the TikTok UK branch will become a data control agency for users in the European Economic Area and Switzerland.
In a statement, TikTok said: “Since the launch in Europe, we have invested in local talent, created a regional senior leadership team, and established basic business functions in the region because we believe this is supporting our continued growth here. The best way for the TikTok community. From July 29th, TikTok’s Irish and British branches will succeed the American branch. It will provide services to European users, and manage and protect their personal data.”
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TikTok has more than 1,000 employees in Europe, of which 800 are based in the United Kingdom and Ireland. London remains TikTok’s main office and the company’s second-largest office. In January this year, the company said it would establish a new European base in Dublin, employing 100 employees. Since its establishment more than three years ago, TikTok has gained approximately 1 billion users. This app is particularly popular among young users in different parts of the world.
TikTok has been at the hub of controversies
In a recent report, the Indian government banned 59 Chinese mobile apps including popular apps like TikTok and UC Browser. The government says it is safeguarding the security of its people.
However, the company is doing well financially. Recently, research agency, Sensor Tower, issued a report saying that in May this year, Douyin and TikTok attracted more than $95.7 million in the global App Store and Google Play, an increase of nearly 10 times from the $9 million in the same period of the previous year.
According to statistics, the country with the most installed TikTok apps in May is India. Of 111.9 million downloads, India accounts for over 20% of the total downloads. Despite several warnings from top U.S. officials, the United States still accounts for 9.3% of the total TikTok downloads. From the perspective of mobile phone systems, this app ranks first in Android downloads in May. However, for the iOS system, it ranks second, behind online meeting software, Zoom.
