The Albanian government has banned TikTok for a year over child safety concerns, according to reports.
The suspension comes following the killing of a teenager last month.
“For one year, we’ll be completely shutting it down for everyone,” said Prime Minister Edi Rama. “There will be no TikTok in Albania.”
Reports suggest that a 14-year-old student was stabbed to death by a fellow following an argument on social media. The incident, which took place in November, ignited debate on the influence of social media on children and the PM Rama blamed the tragedy on TikTok and social media on the whole.
Subsequently, videos supporting the killing had surfaced on TikTok, too.
“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,” the PM Rama said.
TikTok will be banned early next year in the country.
The short-video platform, on the other hand, has denied any connection between TikTok, the victim, or perpetrator.
“We found no evidence that the perpetrator or victim had TikTok accounts, and multiple reports have in fact confirmed videos leading up to this incident were being posted on another platform, not TikTok,” a TikTok spokesperson said.
The suspension of TikTok in Albania comes just days after Australia imposed a high-profile ban on social media for users aged under 16.
In the United States (US), TikTok is expected to be banned on January 19, 2024, if its parent company ByteDance does not sell its local operations. The incoming president, Donald Trump, however, has voiced support for the platform, which, according to him, brought his videos billions of views during the presidential campaign.
