The European Union has launched a new investigation into the China-based social media platform TikTok. The investigation centers on findings that TikTok transferred user data from Europe to China. The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC), the EU’s main authority responsible for data protection regulations, took action after the company revealed that it was storing data in China.

The EU believes TikTok transferred personal data to China.

The DPC’s investigation was launched following a four-year audit into whether TikTok transferred user information outside of Europe. Throughout this process, TikTok maintained that no data from European users was stored in China.

However, the company stated in April that a limited amount of data was stored in China for a short time and then deleted. This admission contradicts previous statements. The DPC launched a new investigation, arguing that the company’s previous information was inaccurate.

Prior to this development, which emerged in April, TikTok was fined €530 million in May. This fine related to employees in China being able to remotely access user data in Europe.

TikTok appealed this decision on May 2nd. The company argues that the fine sets a precedent not only for itself but for all major tech companies operating in Europe.

The newly launched investigation, independent of this fine, focuses on TikTok’s data storage practices in China. The DPC states that the company only voluntarily disclosed this information in April and that such information was not available at earlier stages of the investigation.

TikTok officials state that they themselves discovered that the data was stored in China, voluntarily reported the relevant information to the DPC, and that the data was quickly deleted from the servers. The company claims that the vast majority of European user data is stored in Norway, Ireland, and the US, while employees in China only have access to limited technical information.