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Ireland joins a growing list of countries where restrictions have been placed on the use of TikTok on official devices.
Similar announcements have been made by the US and UK governments, as well as by the European Commission, European Parliament and European Council.
Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, India, Latvia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and Taiwan have all imposed various bans on the video-sharing app.
For Ireland though, it was a decision that no doubt came with an added layer of concern given TikTok’s large presence here and future plans for its Irish operations.
The company employs 3,000 people in Ireland and the country is forming a major part of TikTok’s efforts to convince regulators and governments that European user data is safe.
Project Clover
In March, the Chinese-owned video-sharing app announced details of ‘Project Clover’, a plan to address concerns about data security.
The project will involve European user information being stored at two data centres in Dublin and at a third centre in the Hamar region of Norway.
The three data centres will be co-location sites operated by third-party service providers.
‘Project Clover’ was announced by Theo Bertram, TikTok’s Vice President of Government Relations & Public Policy for Europe.
Read more: ‘Concerns’ over TikTok data as Govt advised against use on official devices
He said that similar to the company’s data security approach in the US, TikTok is introducing security gateways that will determine employee access to European TikTok user data and data transfers outside of Europe.
“This will add another level of control over data access,” Mr Bertram said.
In a follow-up interview with RTÉ News, Mr Bertram said it was sensible for the Irish Government to seek fresh security advice on TikTok.
“I think it’s a really sensible thing to do, to make up their minds for themselves, not just make a decision because someone else has but to judge it for themselves on the basis of the facts and I applaud them for doing that,” Mr Bertram said.
Yesterday, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew made reference to Ireland while speaking at the TED2023 Possibility Conference in Vancouver.
Asked how many people were reviewing content posted to the platform, Mr Chew said the numbers and costs are huge.
“The group is based in Ireland and it’s a lot of people. It’s tens of thousands of people,” he said.
“It’s one of the most important cost items. And I think it’s completely worth it.”
A ‘big investor’ in Ireland
Asked about today’s TikTok guidance from the National Cyber Security Centre, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said it was important to recognise that the company “is a big investor in Ireland and employs a lot of people.”
However, he said the Government had to “take the advice of the cybersecurity experts.”
He said “there are some concerns” about how data gathered by TikTok “is used and how it may be transmitted.”
Richard Browne, Director of the National Cyber Security Centre, said the issue was not what we know to be happening but rather what we can’t rule out is happening.
He said TikTok has extremely high permissions and gathers and stores very large amounts of user data, including sensitive personal data.
“It is on the very high end in terms of the user data that it collects,” he said.
“It is also in terms of its ownership structure relatively unusual given that it has a Chinese headquarters. TikTok and its employees are subject to Chinese law.
“The logical argument is that we take a sensible risk-based approach and ensure that government data can’t be compromised in this way,” Mr Browne said, adding that Government devices should limit their use of all social media applications.
TikTok ‘disappointed’ by the decision
A spokesperson for TikTok said the company was disappointed by the Irish decision and that it was not consulted prior to the announcement being made.
“Similar decisions in other countries have been based on fundamental misconceptions and we are always happy to engage with governments and institutions to explain how we protect our TikTok community and their data,” the company said.
In its latest statement, TikTok once again referenced plans to base two data centres in Ireland as well as further tightening data access controls and working with a third-party security company to provide independent oversight.
The Government has pointed out that the TikTok decision is reversible and that there will be exceptions when a business case can be made.
Presumably, this will include social media and communications staff who wish to continue using TikTok to share information.
The temporary nature of the restrictions and the exemptions for some staff mean there is wiggle room for a Government that cannot annoy a large investor in the country or ignore an app that continues to grow in popularity.
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