ByteDance hopes that Project Clover will be enough to allay European fears about the risk that the data captured by TikTok will be exploited by the Chinese authorities. FLORENCE LO / REUTERS
Erich Andersen, general counsel of ByteDance, multiplies meetings with regulators and governments across Europe.
The ball card of the American Erich Andersen is filling up. ByteDance’s general counsel, head of global legal affairs at TikTok’s parent company, began a European tour on Monday to meet with governments and regulators as political pressure mounts on the video app. After packing his bags in London and then Brussels, this manager will stop in Paris. According to our information, a meeting with Roch-Olivier Maistre, president of Arcom (ex-CSA), will be held on Monday March 13.
Arcom was annoyed at the end of November by the poor quality of the report on the fight against misinformation that TikTok gave it for the first time. This is a legal obligation for social platforms frequented by more than 5 million French people, a threshold amply exceeded by TikTok.
The regulator had deplored a copy “particularly imprecise”, “without tangible elements allowing an evaluation of the means put in place” and no response to “central issues” of moderation. “We have a concern, because there is a very clear discrepancy between the answers to our questionnaire and the place that TikTok has taken with young people. The status quo is not possible. A great success calls for responsibilities”snapped Benoît Loutrel, member of the Arcom college.
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A project to protect European data
The Ministry of Digital announced Wednesday that Jean-Noël Barrot will receive Erich Andersen this Friday. The Minister intends to question him on “the company’s roadmap and commitments» as well as on the «precise operational schedule» the measures taken to protect the data of its users.
TikTok on Wednesday unveiled the “Clover Project», a data protection bubble for European users. It will involve the construction of three data centers in Europe, where European data will be repatriated. Everything will be supervised by a third-party European company, responsible for securing this “bubbleand to control how TikTok employees can access this information.
The group hopes that Project Clover, whose cost is estimated at 1.2 billion euros per year, will be enough to allay European fears about the risk that the data captured by TikTok will be exploited by the Chinese authorities.
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