Albania suspends TikTok for a year amid concerns over child safety

Thursday 06 March 2025 - 16:01

By: Zahouani Ilham

Albania suspends TikTok for a year amid concerns over child safety

The Albanian government has announced a year-long suspension of TikTok, citing concerns over its role in promoting violence and bullying, particularly among children. The decision, made on Thursday, follows increasing reports of harmful content influencing young users.

Education Minister Ogerta Manastirliu stated that discussions with TikTok are ongoing regarding the implementation of parental controls, age verification, and the integration of the Albanian language into the platform. Authorities have engaged with approximately 65,000 parents through 1,300 meetings, most of whom supported restrictions or a complete shutdown of the app.

The government's initiative was triggered by a fatal incident in November when a teenager fatally stabbed another following a dispute that allegedly started on TikTok. Despite the platform's denial of direct involvement, the Albanian government has pressed forward with its restrictions.

Prime Minister Edi Rama emphasized that dialogue with TikTok remains open, and company representatives are expected to visit Albania soon to propose security measures aimed at protecting children. However, the opposition has strongly criticized the decision, calling it a violation of free expression and planning a protest against the ban on March 15.

TikTok, operated by the Chinese company ByteDance, has faced scrutiny worldwide. Recently, it was briefly suspended in the United States due to legal pressures demanding ByteDance divest its ownership. The U.K.'s data protection authority is also investigating how TikTok processes the personal data of teenagers to curate content, raising broader concerns about children's exposure to potentially harmful material on social media.