Albania starts turning off TikTok amid concern over youth violence

14/3/2025 6:13

TikTok users in Albania are

experiencing difficulties accessing the popular short video app

after a one-year government ban took effect on Thursday,

prompted by concerns that social media is fuelling youth

violence in and outside school.



Albania's move follows bans or partial bans in at least

20 other countries amid worries about improper videos or

security concerns linked to TikTok owner ByteDance and its

proximity to the Chinese government.



Some users in Albania said they were unable to access the

platform via web browsers after midday.



"I can see that TikTok is no longer accessible on the web

but the app is still working, for now," said Ermal Hoxha, 28,

from Tirana. Each time he tried to access the site, he received

an error message: "This site can't be reached. Check if there is

a typo in www.tiktok.com."



Similar issues were reported by other users and a government

official told Reuters that after web browsers the ban will be

extended to include the app too.



Albania's National Authority for Cybersecurity (AKSK) has

ordered all internet providers in the country to submit written

confirmation that TikTok will be turned off by Thursday.



The decision to ban TikTok was made last December, a month

after a 14-year-old boy was stabbed to death by a fellow pupil

following arguments on social media.



TikTok had said it was seeking further clarification from

the Albanian government since their findings allegedly showed

that the "videos leading up to this incident (the stabbing) were

being posted on another platform, not TikTok".







CENSORSHIP?



Isa Myzyraj, the head of the Association of Journalists in

Albania (AJA), said the group would take the case to the

Constitutional Court, arguing that the ban restricts freedom of

expression and constitutes censorship.



"We fear that, in the same way, the government may also shut

down other social networks and one day even ban the internet

entirely," Myzyraj said.



Opposition parties have accused Prime Minister Edi Rama of

seeking to silence dissent by shutting down a platform often

used to voice criticism, especially when - in their view - the

government is increasing its control of mainstream media. Rama's

government denies this accusation.



The Democratic Party, the largest opposition party, has

called for a protest on Saturday in front of the government

offices to oppose the TikTok ban.



Rama has accused the app of showing videos outside China of

"only scum and scoundrels".