Short video application Tik Tok Albania faces a one-year ban after the Albanian government announced the decision on Saturday, December 21. Prime Minister Edi Rama said the ban would be implemented in a year’s time after meeting with parents and teachers across the country.
“TikTok will be completely shut down in Albania for a year. No one will own TikTok.
Rama accused TikTok and other platforms of fueling youth violence, pointing to the stabbing death of a 14-year-old boy last month by a classmate. The incident followed a social media controversy, with TikTok videos appearing to support the attack, the report said.
“The problem isn’t our kids; it’s our kids.” It’s us, our society and platforms like TikTok that are holding our kids hostage.
What does TikTok say?
TikTok called for “urgent clarification” on the ban, with a spokesperson saying, “We have found no evidence that the perpetrator or victim had a TikTok account. Reports indicate that the video related to this incident was posted on another platform, not TikTok .
Albania is not the only country to regulate social media
The decision reflects a broader trend in Europe to tighten controls on children’s social media use. France, Germany, Belgium and other countries have introduced measures to reduce the risks of minors going online. Going further, Australia recently implemented a comprehensive social media ban on children under 16 years old, which is one of the strictest regulations in the world against technology companies such as Meta and TikTok.
