TikTok creating more than 500 new British jobs as UK users top 30 million
The Chinese-owned social media firm said its UK workforce would expand to 3,000 this year as part of its 'deep commitment' to the UK.
It will also open a new 135,000sq ft office in London's Barbican, which is set to open early next year.
The group already has its UK headquarters in Farringdon, London, which were opened in 2022.
TikTok unveiled the plans as it said it now has more than 30 million regular users in the UK each month, which makes the market is biggest user community in Europe.
Adam Presser, director of TikTok UK and global head of operations and trust and safety, said: 'Whether through direct investment in jobs and innovation, or the wider economic contribution from millions of British businesses on TikTok, we're pleased to be increasing our investment and presence here in the UK, an important hub for TikTok.'
But it comes after Cabinet minister Pete Kyle signalled he was looking at measures to restrict the amount of time children spend on their phones, including through a possible 10pm curfew.
Mr Kyle was asked on Sunday morning whether he would look at limiting the time children spend on social media to two hours per app after the Sunday People and Mirror reported the measure was being considered by ministers.
The Online Safety Act has passed into law, and from this year will require tech platforms to follow new Ofcom-issued codes of practice to keep users safe online, particularly children.
Hefty fines and site blockages are among the penalties for those caught breaking the rules, but many critics have argued the approach gives tech firms too much scope to regulate themselves.
TikTok's Mr Presser said that, as well as its UK expansion plans, the group also invests 'significantly' in safety.
The firm launched its UK operations in 2018 (James Manning/PA)
He said: 'What underpins our continued growth is our deep commitment to safety and to creating an enjoyable and secure digital space to sustainably support creators, entrepreneurs and the wider economy, which is why we also invest significantly in safety.'
TikTok first launched its UK operations in 2018 and is financially incorporated in Britain.
The group was fined 530 million euro (£446 million) by the Irish data protection watchdog last month for breaching EU privacy rules around transferring user data to China.
The video-sharing app was also sanctioned for not being transparent with users about where personal data was being sent and ordered the platform to comply with data protection rules within six months.
TikTok said it would appeal against the decision.
The social media giant, which is owned by China-based ByteDance, has been under scrutiny from regulators around the world over how it handles personal data, and is also facing a ban in the United States over its China links, which the US government has said is a national security issue.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
North Wales Chronicle
18 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Spending review is ‘settled', says Downing Street
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to announce funding increases for the NHS, schools and defence along with a number of infrastructure projects on Wednesday, as she shares out some £113 billion freed up by looser borrowing rules. But other areas could face cuts as she seeks to balance manifesto commitments with more recent pledges, such as a hike in defence spending, while meeting her fiscal rules that promise to match day-to-day spending with revenues. On Monday morning, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper was the last minister still to reach a deal with the Treasury, with reports suggesting greater police spending would mean a squeeze on other areas of her department's budget. Speaking to reporters on Monday afternoon, the Prime Minister's official spokesman said: 'The spending review is settled, we will be focused on investing in Britain's renewal so that all working people are better off. 'The first job of the Government was to stabilise the British economy and the public finances, and now we move into a new chapter to deliver the promise and change.' The Government has committed to spend 2.5% of gross domestic product on defence from April 2027, with a goal of increasing that to 3% over the next parliament – a timetable which could stretch to 2034. Ms Reeves' plans will also include an £86 billion package for science and technology research and development. Last week the Chancellor admitted that she had been forced to turn down requests for funding for projects she would have wanted to back, amid the Whitehall spending wrangling. Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan's office is concerned that Wednesday's announcement will include no new funding or projects for London. The mayor had been looking to secure extensions to the Docklands Light Railway and Bakerloo line on the Underground, along with the power to introduce a tourist levy and a substantial increase in funding for the Metropolitan Police. A source close to the mayor said on Monday that ministers 'must not return to the damaging, anti-London approach of the last government', adding this would harm both London's public services and 'jobs and growth across the country'. They said: 'Sadiq will always stand up for London and has been clear it would be unacceptable if there are no major infrastructure projects for London announced in the spending review and the Met doesn't get the funding it needs. 'We need backing for London as a global city that's pro-business, safe and well-connected.'
Glasgow Times
24 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
Spending review is ‘settled', says Downing Street
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to announce funding increases for the NHS, schools and defence along with a number of infrastructure projects on Wednesday, as she shares out some £113 billion freed up by looser borrowing rules. But other areas could face cuts as she seeks to balance manifesto commitments with more recent pledges, such as a hike in defence spending, while meeting her fiscal rules that promise to match day-to-day spending with revenues. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper was the last minister still to reach a deal with the Treasury (Jacob King/PA) On Monday morning, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper was the last minister still to reach a deal with the Treasury, with reports suggesting greater police spending would mean a squeeze on other areas of her department's budget. Speaking to reporters on Monday afternoon, the Prime Minister's official spokesman said: 'The spending review is settled, we will be focused on investing in Britain's renewal so that all working people are better off. 'The first job of the Government was to stabilise the British economy and the public finances, and now we move into a new chapter to deliver the promise and change.' The Government has committed to spend 2.5% of gross domestic product on defence from April 2027, with a goal of increasing that to 3% over the next parliament – a timetable which could stretch to 2034. Ms Reeves' plans will also include an £86 billion package for science and technology research and development. Last week the Chancellor admitted that she had been forced to turn down requests for funding for projects she would have wanted to back, amid the Whitehall spending wrangling. Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan's office is concerned that Wednesday's announcement will include no new funding or projects for London. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan (Lucy North/PA) The mayor had been looking to secure extensions to the Docklands Light Railway and Bakerloo line on the Underground, along with the power to introduce a tourist levy and a substantial increase in funding for the Metropolitan Police. A source close to the mayor said on Monday that ministers 'must not return to the damaging, anti-London approach of the last government', adding this would harm both London's public services and 'jobs and growth across the country'. They said: 'Sadiq will always stand up for London and has been clear it would be unacceptable if there are no major infrastructure projects for London announced in the spending review and the Met doesn't get the funding it needs. 'We need backing for London as a global city that's pro-business, safe and well-connected.'
Metro
32 minutes ago
- Metro
Inside Amsterdam's plans to build a five-storey ‘erotic prison' in an affluent suburb
The red-light district is one of Amsterdam's oldest neighbourhoods and is as classically Dutch as you can get – canals, cobblestone and cafes. The district, De Wallen, is also where many of the around 25,000 sex workers in the Netherlands work. On top of being known for window prostitution and sex shops, Amsterdammers see it as being infamous for two other things as well: bachelor parties and rowdy British tourists hoping for a boozy weekend. But the mayor of Amsterdam Femke Halsema had an idea to change this – by building a mega-brothel in an affluent suburb two miles away, Zuid. The five-storey 'Erotic Centre', designed by firm Moke Architecten, will contain 100 prostitution rooms, two bars and a strip club. Architect Gianni Cito said of the multi-million euro multiplex: 'Offering prostitution in a different location is not enough. 'Visitors come for a broader experience: A boutique, a drink or a bite to eat, a cinema, it all contributes to an atmosphere in which people feel comfortable, even if they do not visit a prostitute.' The Erotic Centre also contains accommodation for anyone working in the two CD holder-shaped towers, as well as offices and medical and mental health facilities. Halsema has said the new centre on Europaboulevard would be safer, offer more security to workers and encourage more people to work legally. A consultation period will begin from Thursday to July 23, with locals, sex workers, bartenders and entrepreneurs urged to share their opinions. Officials will plan on how to finance it by the end of 2025 – it will not be funded by the city – and decide on building the centre by the end of 2026. Sex workers have long opposed the site, dubbing it an 'erotic prison' and a 'sterile building' with none of the 'charm' of the red-light district. In an open letter in 2022, sex workers said they would lose their independence and face more stigma as they're 'hidden away'. The letter said: 'Sex workers have been part of this neighbourhood for as long as people can remember and make its history rich, unique and beautiful.' Having their livelihoods crammed into the centre would also mean that if the building went bust, their jobs would be on the line. Karin, who works for the Prostitution Information Centre, told the TV network BNNVARA last year: 'The nuisance is not caused by the sex workers and the clients, but by the party tourists.' Sabrina Sanchez, a sex worker, told AFP: 'We really don't agree with their solutions that they are offering, that they are imposing. They're not even negotiating with the sex workers' organisations.' Sex worker Michelle said: 'If you're already inside, that's fine, but you also have to go out with your earnings.' Huub Nelis, chairman of MBO College Zuid trade school, told DutchNews that the Erotic Centre could bring crime to the area. He said: 'Our students don't just walk around up to 5pm but also in the evening. There will be parents who will say, my child won't go there, and that's the only education [for their chosen career] in Amsterdam. 'For the erotic pleasure of the one, some children will not be able to get their education.' At a council meeting in March, officials clashed over what impact building the erotic centre would have on Zudi, a well-known business district. Halsema said that De Wallen has more international businesses in the area than Zudi. She added: 'So you could say that the establishment of an erotic centre could have a positive effect on the business climate in the Zuidas.' To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The mayor stressed that the plans for the build – which so far are backed by the parties PvdA, GroenLinks and D66 – are not 'irreversible'. She said: 'The council chose this route years ago, which I am working out very neatly. But it is always possible that the council will say at some point: don't do it after all. ' Halsema and the city council have spent years cracking down on noise and substance abuse riddling the red-light district by banning tours, making bars close earlier and limiting what times sex workers can work. Officials also had a simple message to British men in 2023 as part of a campaign to decrease nuisance: 'Stay away.' Around 10million people visit Amsterdam every year, with around half visiting the red-light district. Sex work is legal in the Netherlands, but it is not allowed everywhere or without a permit – it cannot be practised in a hotel or on the street. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page.
