Video-sharing online giant TikTok has lodged plans with Dublin City Council to erect 15 CCTV cameras on the exterior of its Dublin HQ "for additional security and surveillance purposes”.
The application by TikTok Technology Ltd for the new CCTV system is the second security-related application it has lodged with Dublin City Council in recent months.
In August, the City Council refused planning permission to TikTok to close off its planned café to the public at its Tropical Fruit Warehouse (TFW) HQ.
TikTok lodged the application arising from security considerations due to the sensitive nature of some of the work that will take place within the TFW building.
The TFW HQ houses TikTok’s regional security organisation including the specialist Fusion Centre.
Now, outlining the need for the new external CCTV security system at TikTok’s TFW offices on Sir John Rogerson's Quay, senior planner at the Tom Phillips + Associates planning consultancy, Linda Colleran has told the Council that "like any other company, TikTok require security cameras for the safety of employees, protection of assets and monitoring of access points, particularly given the prominent location of the site on St John Rogerson’s Quay".
Sensitive nature
Ms Colleran adds that "security is also paramount to the company due to the sensitive nature of some of the work conducted within the complex on a daily basis".
Ms Colleran also states that “consequently, data protection is of utmost importance and, as such, TikTok is required to comply with specific security regulation and policies".
Ms Colleran states that "the application therefore proposes a new CCTV security system for additional security and surveillance purposes”.
Ms Colleran points out that TikTok has leased the entire Tropical Fruit Warehouse office complex “at its home for its growing workforce”.
Opponents
Social Democrat TD, Catherine Murphy said she took issue "with the proposal to mount cameras to the original façade of the historic building".
She said: "No matter what steps they take to try to blend or disguise the fixings, the structure will still be injured."
Senior Surveillance and Human Rights Policy Officer at the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, Olga Cronin said on Monday: "CCTV systems can have legitimate purposes, such as securing premises and/or to maintain the safety of persons.
Ms Cronin added: "But employees are entitled to a reasonable expectation of privacy. Unless CCTV is used proportionately, it can cause legitimate concerns of unreasonable and unlawful intrusion into the data protection and privacy rights of individuals.”
The application comes against the background of the National Cyber Security Centre advising staff at Government departments and agencies in April to move TikTok from their official devices, following a detailed risk review.
In an interview with The Irish Examiner on Monday, the Chinese ambassador to Ireland, He Xiangdong said that cybersecurity fears over TikTok are "nonsense" and the Irish Government is succumbing to American and European “fever”.
