GitHub breaks ground on its first data center, giving control over European users’ data

GitHub breaks ground on its first data center, giving control over European users’ data<br><br>GitHub is starting the construction of its first data center in Ireland, allowing the company to have more control over the data of European users. The data center, situated close to Dublin, is scheduled to be fully operational before the end of 2025 and will be maintained by Microsoft. <br><br>Since the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was implemented in 2018, regulatory requirements have been moving towards a more data localisation model, which requires the data of EU residents to be stored within the EU. This move is also a response to recent concerns about data privacy and the reach of the US government into data stored by non-US companies. <br><br>According to GitHub, the new centre would ensure that all GitHub user data for European customers is processed locally, including code, API requests, GitHub Package Registry packages, GitHub Actions workflow logs, and projects. <br><br>Despite the fact that the data centre is only intended to hold data for users in the EU, it will make it easier for people who use the site around the world to contribute to open source projects. <br><br>The news comes as part of a larger effort to build more data centres around the world, including in the Middle East, Africa, and the APAC region, as well as the United States, providing GitHub with access to more data from its global user base.