Albania bans TikTok for one year for promoting teen violence
On December 21, 2024 local time, the Albanian government announced that it would ban the use of the short video sharing app 'TikTok' in the country for one year. This follows a murder case committed by a teenage boy in November 2024 that was triggered by social media.
Albania to ban TikTok and implement school safety plan following tragic incident - Albanian Times | Albanian Times
https://albaniantimes.al/albania-tiktok-ban-school-safety/
Albania bans TikTok for a year after killing of teenager | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/technology/albania-bans-tiktok-year-after-killing-teenager-2024-12-21/
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has been meeting with parent associations and school teachers across the country to plan measures to make schools safer places. As part of the school protection plan, he has announced that the TikTok ban will be implemented. The TikTok ban in Albania is scheduled to come into effect in early 2025. 'For one year, we will completely ban TikTok for all users. TikTok will not be available in Albania,' said Prime Minister Rama. Prime Minister Rama has criticized social media, especially TikTok, for encouraging youth violence in and outside of schools.
The Albanian government's ban on TikTok is said to have been triggered by the stabbing death of a 14-year-old male student by a classmate in November 2024. After the stabbing incident, the classmate shared photos of the crime on Snapchat, sparking nationwide protests in Albania. Prime Minister Rama said about the increase in violence among young people, 'TikTok in particular is encouraging violence among young people in the country,' and 'TikTok is the bad guy in the neighborhood. We're going to kick this bad guy out of the neighborhood for a year.'
'This is not just a problem for children, it's a problem for us, it's a problem for society, it's a problem for TikTok and everything else that's holding children hostage,' Prime Minister Rama said in a statement.
Meanwhile, TikTok is reportedly seeking an 'urgent clarification' from the Albanian government, with a company spokesperson telling Reuters: 'We have found no evidence that the perpetrators or victims had TikTok accounts, and in fact multiple reports have confirmed that the videos leading up to this incident were not posted on TikTok but on other platforms.'
Some European countries, such as France, Germany and Belgium, have restricted children's use of social media, and Australia has one of the world's strictest restrictions on major tech companies, banning social media use by children under the age of 16 from November 2024.
Australia passes world's first law banning use of social media by people under the age of 16, targets X, TikTok, Instagram, etc. but excludes YouTube - GIGAZINE
The United States has passed a bill to ban TikTok, which is scheduled to come into effect on January 19, 2025. TikTok claims that this is an infringement of free speech and plans to appeal to the Supreme Court.
US Federal Appeals Court upholds TikTok ban, if this continues, 170 million TikTok users will disappear in January 2025 - GIGAZINE
In addition to the TikTok ban, Albania is also planning various measures to keep students safe, including partnering with the United Arab Emirates to install advanced intelligent cameras on school grounds and in surrounding areas, increasing the number of school security guards, and enforcing stricter rules to monitor student mobile phone use during class.
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