ByteDance, which owns video service TikTok, has transferred data storage from US users to Oracle in the US. The Chinese tech giant is working hard to stay in the US market amid allegations that the company may be leaking information about Americans to Chinese authorities. According to TikTok representatives, Oracle is now investigating the source code of the service.
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This was announced by TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew. He also added that Americans’ data is now stored on Oracle servers by default. His team is also developing a local hosting system for the European Union with data centers in Ireland and Norway. TikTok further claims that Chinese authorities never asked for information about American users. The company will continue to invest in data storage manufacturing “As safe as it gets”.
The social network has long been under the scrutiny of US regulators, who have a keen interest in how the platform handles user data. A complete ban on TikTok in the United States and the European Union is not excluded, so the company is working on projects to localize user data in these regions.
TikTok’s management previously discussed a split from ByteDance, but Chinese authorities said they would oppose a forced sale of the popular service. TikTok’s boss confirmed that the company is working with Oracle and US authorities to reach a compromise.
In fact, TikTok’s biggest ally in the US is the service’s 150 million US users. In response to a total ban on the service in Montana signed by the governor, it was users who initially filed a lawsuit against local authorities, accusing them of violating the First Amendment to the US Constitution. Later, TikTok itself filed a similar lawsuit, demanding the repeal of the discriminatory law, which goes into effect on January 1, 2024. Meanwhile, TikTok continues to actively collaborate with Meta in the field of advertising* and Alphabet, as well as developing new advertising mechanisms modeled after Chinese twin TikTok platform Douyin, owned by the same owner.
In 2022, TikTok’s revenue grew more than 30% to over $80 billion. Recently, the company has been actively cutting costs, and also refuses to get involved in risky projects related to game development and venture capital investments. It is known to be worth US$220 billion recently.
* It is included in the list of public associations and religious organizations for which the court made a final decision to dissolve or prohibit activities on the grounds provided for in Federal Law No. 114-FZ of July 25. 2002 “On Countering Extremist Activities”.
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