Albania issues one-year ban after fatal stabbing

Albania’s prime minister has announced the government intends to block access to TikTok for one year after the killing of a schoolboy last month raised fears about the influence of social media on children.

Speaking on Saturday Edi Rama declared the proposed ban would start in January.

TikTok said it is seeking urgent clarifications from the Albanian government about the proposed ban.

The social media platform told the BBC it had found no evidence the person who allegedly stabbed the 14-year-old boy, or the victim himself, had TikTok accounts.

During a meeting in Albania’s capital Tirana with teachers, parents and psychologists Rama branded TikTok as “the thug of the neighbourhood”.

“We are going to close it for a year and we are going to start rolling out programs that will serve the education of students and help parents follow their children’s journey,” Rama said.

The blocking of TikTok comes less than a month after the 14-year-old student was killed and another injured in a fight near a school in southern Tirana which had its roots in a confrontation on social media.

The killing sparked a debate in Albania among parents, psychologists and educational institutions about the impact of social networks on young people.

“In China, TikTok promotes how students can take courses, how to protect nature, how to keep traditions, but on the TikTok outside China we see only scum and mud. Why do we need this?”, Rama said.

TikTok is already banned in India, which was one of the app’s largest markets before it was outlawed in June 2020. It is also blocked in Iran, Nepal, Afghanistan and Somalia.

TikTok is also fighting against a law passed by the US Congress which would ban the app from 19 January unless it is sold by ByteDance – its Chinese parent company.

The US Supreme Court has agreed to hear last-minute legal arguments from TikTok as to why it should not be banned or sold with a hearing scheduled for 10 January – just days before the 19 January deadline imposed by Congress.

The US government is taking action against the app because of what it says are its links to the Chinese state – links which TikTok and ByteDance have denied.

Several European countries including France, Germany and Belgium have enforced restrictions on social media use for children.

In November Australia passed the world’s strictest measures by voting to ban children under the age of 16 from using social media.

That particular ban will take at least a year to implement.

UK Technology Secretary Peter Kyle told the BBC that a similar ban for under-16s is “on the table” but added that he wanted to see more evidence first.