Social media giant TikTok has announced that it is to set up a €420M data centre in Ireland.
The move will see hundreds of new jobs created when it goes into operation in the next 18 to 24 months time, bosses of the Chinese-owned short-form video-sharing app added.
It hasn’t yet been revealed where the facility - which will store videos, messages and other data generated by its European users - will be built.
The announcement is fueling speculation that TikTok will look to set up their European headquarters in Dublin.
Several global tech giants including Facebook, Twitter and Google base their European operations in Dublin, while Intel's is just across the Kildare border in Leixlip.
The news comes as under-fire US president Donald Trump seeks to ban the app in the States.
He claims TikTok - formerly known as Musical.ly - presents a threat to national security because it is Chinese owned.
The hugely popular app’s parent company Bytedance has refuted Trump’s accusations, but is in talks to sell its North American and Australasian operations to US software giant Microsoft.
Beijing-based Bytedance has insisted it does not share data obtained by TikTok users with China’s ruling Communist Party government.
Earlier in the summer, thousands of teenage TikTok users claimed have helped to sabotage one of Trump’s rallies after registering for an event in Tulsa, Oklahoma with no intention of turning up.
Only around 6,000 attended the rally at which they had expected more than 20,000 despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the risks posed by large gatherings.
Speaking of TikTok’s move into Ireland, Theo Bertram, the app’s director of public policy for Europe, told the BBC that “it’s a significant investment".
“It’s a symbol of our long-term commitment to Europe and I think that’s an important message for our users and our creators at this time.”
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