The Albanian government plans to block access to TikTok for a year after the killing of a 14-year-old boy led to concerns about social media’s influence on children.
Prime Minister Edi Rama said the proposed ban will start early next year as he particularly blamed the video-sharing app for fuelling violence and bullying, especially among youths.
The boy was stabbed to death last month, allegedly by a fellow pupil, with the incident reportedly taking place following an argument between the pair on social media.
Chinese-owned TikTok says it has found no evidence that either of them had accounts on the platform.
And it has asked for “urgent clarity from the Albanian government” over the stabbing.
The incident sparked a wider debate in the country about social media’s influence on children.
Children are believed to be the largest group of TikTok users in the country and after meeting parents and teachers, Mr Rama said: “For one year, we’ll be completely shutting it down for everyone.
“There will be no TikTok in Albania.”
He added: “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 ban is part of a wider plan to make schools safer.
Authorities have introduced a series of protective measures, starting with an increased police presence, training programmes and closer co-operation with parents.
The prime minister’s office claimed that in China, TikTok “prevents children from being sucked into this abyss”.
But it claimed Albania was too small to make TikTok change its algorithm so it does not promote “the reproduction of the unending hell of the language of hatred, violence, bullying”.
A TikTok spokesperson said: “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.”
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Mr Rama’s decision to seek a TikTok ban was not supported by everyone in the country.
Ina Zhupa, from Albania’s main opposition Democratic Party, said: “The dictatorial decision to close the social media platform TikTok… is a grave act against freedom of speech and democracy.
“It is a pure electoral act and abuse of power to suppress freedoms.”
Australia has approved a total social media ban for children aged under 16, while the UK has no current plans for such restrictions.
Earlier this month, TikTok lost an appeal against plans to ban the app in the US.
The law, which was signed off by US President Joe Biden in April, requires TikTok to break ties with its China-based parent company ByteDance by mid-January – or else it will be blocked in the country.
It was introduced following concern from some US politicians that the company might share user data with the Chinese government, despite repeated assurances from the firm that it would not.
