TikTok has launched new security measures due to fears over how user data is shared with China.

The Chinese social media platform said that the initiative, dubbed Project Clover, will use a separate security firm to monitor data flows and users will be anonymised to make them harder to identify.

The ByteDance-owned company also said that it planned to introduce “security gateways” which would add an extra layer of control over employee access to European user information and data transfers outside of Europe.

Data gathered from European users would be stored in data centres in Ireland and Norway.

Several governments and associated bodies have raised security concerns about the app and its data collection practices.

The Czech cyber security watchdog NUKIB has said it had concerns due to the amount of data that is collected by the app, while the Canadian Government has banned TikTok on government devices. The EU Commission has similarly banned TikTok from both corporate and personal devices over cybersecurity concerns.

In a statement Theo Bertram, vice president, government relations & public policy – Europe, at TikTok said: “Project Clover reinforces our commitment to a European data governance approach that places the safeguarding of user data at its core and aligns with the principle of data sovereignty.

“We believe that its implementation will ensure that the 150 million people who come to TikTok every month enjoy industry-leading data protection and security.”

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