Edi Rama, the Albanian Prime Minister, confirmed this Sunday that TikTok would close in his country, citing “a carefully considered decision”. TikTok reacted by “requesting urgent clarification from the Albanian government”, rejected by the Prime Minister.
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama confirmed on Sunday that TikTok would close in his country, citing “a carefully considered decision” and rejecting any request for “clarification” from the social network.
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On Saturday, Mr. Rama announced the ban from the beginning of 2025, after which TikTok responded by “requesting urgent clarification from the Albanian government,” according to a spokesperson.
This is “not a hasty reaction linked to a single incident”
“Regarding the mentioned tragic incident, we found no evidence that the perpetrator or victim had TikTok accounts, and reports suggest that videos regarding these incidents were posted on another platform, not TikTok “, he added.
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The announcement of the suspension of the social network, owned by the Chinese group ByteDance and followed by a billion active users worldwide, came less than a month after the death of a 14-year-old student during a brawl near a school in Tirana, after a conflict on social networks.
This decision was “not a hasty reaction linked to a single incident”, the Albanian Prime Minister responded on Sunday, but “a carefully considered decision taken in consultation with the parent communities in schools across the country. the country.”
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“TikTok has no reason to demand clarification from Albania because, in Albania, it is the Albanians who make the decisions, not the owners of the TikTok algorithm,” he added on his account x.
“Inability to grasp the seriousness of the threat that TikTok represents” for young people
“Pretending that the teen’s murder has no connection to TikTok because the conflict did not originate on the platform demonstrates a failure to grasp the seriousness of the threat that TikTok poses to children and young people across the world. today,” Mr. Rama wrote again.
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Following this tragedy, a debate was held in the country between parents, psychologists and schools about the impact of social networks on young people.
The TikTok application is particularly popular with young people around the world, attracted by its ultra-short video formats which scroll continuously.
The application surpasses all its competitors in its ability to capture attention. By 2024, Android users used it for an average of 34 hours each month, according to a report from We Are Social.
Banned from use by staff of public institutions in several countries
TikTok has been accused of espionage in the United States and is the subject of a European Union investigation over allegations that it was used to influence the presidential election in Romania, in favor of a candidate of extreme right.
The platform has also been banned from use by staff of public institutions in several countries.
The AFP, among more than a dozen other fact-checking organizations, is paid by TikTok in several countries to fact-check videos that potentially contain false information.
