Albania bans TikTok for one year after teen stabbing incident, the company reacts

Albanie announced that it is banning the social media video-sharing platform Tiktok for one year, following the murder of a teenager last month. A 14-year-old schoolboy was stabbed to death in November by his fellow pupil, sparking outrage online. While announcing the move, the Albanian authorities raised concerns about the influence of social media on children.

Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama confirmed the news on Saturday. He said that the ban is part of a broader plan to make schools safer. The move was announced after Rama met with the parents’ groups and teachers from across the country. “For one year, we’ll be completely shutting it down for everyone. There will be no TikTok in Albania,” Rama said in a statement.

The Albanian premier was being blamed for the stabbing incident. Local media reported that the stabbing took place following an argument between two boys on social media. Following the incident, multiple videos emerged of people supporting the killing on TikTok.

“The problem today is not our children, the problem today is us, the problem today is our society, the problem today is TikTok and all the others that are taking our children hostage,” Rama said in the statement. It is pertinent to note that Albanian children comprise the largest group of TikTok users in the country, Reuters reported.

TikTok reacts

Shortly after the announcement, TikTok said that it had requested “urgent clarity from the Albanian government” over the matter. The tech giant maintained that it had “found no evidence that the perpetrator or victim had TikTok accounts, and multiple reports have confirmed videos leading up to this incident were being posted on another platform, not TikTok,” Reuters reported.

Several European nations, including countries like France, Germany and Belgium have enforced restrictions on social media use for children. In November this year, Australia approved a complete social media ban for children under the age of 16.

In the Saturday statement, Rama blamed social media, and TikTok in particular, for fuelling violence among youths in and outside school. There have been increasing concerns among Albanian parents about their children taking knives and other objects to school to use in quarrels or cases of bullying promoted by stories they see on TikTok.

Following the statement from the Albanian prime minister, his office clarified that Albania is too small a country to impose on TikTok a change of its algorithm so that it does not promote “the reproduction of the unending hell of the language of hatred, violence, bullying and so on”, Rama’s office said on Saturday. It said that in China, TikTok “prevents children from being sucked into this abyss”.

Rama mentioned that during the one-year shutdown, the country will determine whether TikTok to resume its operation in the country or not. However, not everyone in Albania agrees with Rama’s decision in the country. “The dictatorial decision to close the social media platform TikTok … is a grave act against freedom of speech and democracy,” said Ina Zhupa, a lawmaker of the main opposition Democratic party. “It is a pure electoral act and abuse of power to suppress freedoms.” The ban is expected to come into effect next year.

With inputs from Reuters.