Albania: the government bans TikTok for a year, angering young users

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The decision of the Albanian government to shut down the video streaming site TikTok for a year was met with anger by users of the platform in the country.

Prime Minister Edi Rama said on Saturday that TikTok will be blocked starting next year, accusing the platform of being responsible for the increase in episodes of violence and bullyingespecially among young people.

“We disagree, me and my peers, because it's not TikTok that causes arguments between us. TikTok is something through which we talk about our daily lives and entertain ourselves. That is, we exploit it during our free time. We are not d 'agreement because it is a deprivation for us,' said Samuel Sulmani, an 18-year-old user.

Other young TikTokers agree.

“TikTok is an entertainment and fun app for us,” Laura Legisi said.

While Dajana Marku said: “TikTok has no impact on daily life. It has no connection with the events that occurred.”

The Albanian authorities held 1,300 meetings with teachers and parents following the death of a teenager who was stabbed by another young man in mid-November after an argument that allegedly started on the video hosting platform.

Rama, speaking at a town meeting, said TikTok “will be closed for everyone. There will be no more TikTok in the Republic of Albania“, a move that is reportedly supported by 90% of parents and teachers the government has spoken to.

Rama said the closure would begin next year, but did not specify a date.

Anger over the ban has also been expressed at a political level.

“The dictatorial decision to shut down the social media platform TikTok is a serious act against free speech and democracy,” said Ina Zhupa, a lawmaker from the main opposition Democratic Party.

“It is a purely electoral act and an abuse of power to repress freedoms.”

Parliamentary elections will be held in Albania next year.

Following the Tirana decision, TikTok asked for “urgent clarity from the Albanian government” on the case of the stabbed teenager.

The company said it had “found no evidence that the perpetrator or victim had a TikTok account, and multiple reports have confirmed that the videos leading to this incident were posted on another platform, not TikTok.” .

On Sunday, however, Rama said the decision to block TikTok was not “a hasty reaction to a single incident” but rather “a carefully considered decision made in consultation with parent communities in schools across the country.”

“Either TikTok protects Albanian children, or Albania will protect its children from TikTok,” he said in a post in Albanian and English on X.

According to national researchers, Albanian children make up the largest group of TikTok users in the country.

But there has been growing concern among parents after reports of children bringing knives and other objects to school to use in arguments or cases of bullying prompted by content seen on TikTok.

Albania is too small a country to force TikTok to change its algorithm so that it does not promote “the reproduction of the never-ending hell of hate speech, violence, bullying and so on,” wrote the Rama's office.

The authorities have put in place a series of protection measures in schools, starting with an increased police presence, training programs and closer collaboration with parents.

Albanian authorities said they would monitor the company's and other countries' reactions to the closing for a year before deciding whether to allow the company to resume operations.

Albania's decision comes after several European countries, including France, Germany and Belgium, introduced restrictions on minors' access to social media.

In November, Australia went a step further, completely banning the use of social media for all young people under the age of 16.