Albania: Prime Minister confirms closure of TikTok

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.

On Saturday, Edi 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.

“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.

“Not a hasty reaction linked to a single incident”

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 in turn on Sunday, but “a carefully considered decision taken in consultation with the parent communities in schools across the country. the country”.

“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.

“The threat that TikTok poses to children”

“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,” wrote Edi Rama.

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.

TikTok application accused of spying in the United States

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.

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.

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