Agence France-Presse
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama on Sunday dismissed TikTok’s response to the country’s ban of the platform, insisting the government action was “not a rushed reaction to a single incident.”
On Saturday, Rama announced Albania was shutting down TikTok from early 2025. In a statement released within hours, a TikTok spokesman said: “We are seeking urgent clarity from the Albanian government.”
“With regards to the tragic incident referenced, we found no evidence that the perpetrator or victim had TikTok accounts, and reports suggest videos regarding these incidents were being posted on another platform, not TikTok.”
Rama, in a post on X Sunday, insisted the ban was a carefully considered decision made in consultation with parent communities in schools across the country.
“TikTok has no grounds to demand clarifications from Albania because, in Albania, it is Albanians who make the decisions, not the owners of TikTok’s algorithm,” he added.
The decision to block the social network came less than a month after a 14-year-old was killed and another injured in a fight near a school in Tirana.
The fight developed from an online confrontation on social media.
The killing sparked a debate in the country among parents, psychologists and educational institutions about the impact of social networks on young people.
Announcing the ban, the government also announced it would launch education programs for students and parents.
“To claim that the killing of the teenage boy has no connection to TikTok because the conflict didn’t originate on the platform demonstrates a failure to grasp both the seriousness of the threat TikTok poses to children and youth today,” Rama wrote.
The TikTok application is particularly popular with young people around the world, seduced by its ultra-short, continuously-scrolling video formats.
The application surpasses all its competitors in its ability to capture attention.
TikTok has faced accusations of espionage in the United States and is under investigation by the European Union over claims it was used to sway Romania’s presidential election in favour of a far-right candidate.
The platform has also been banned for use by personnel in state institutions in several countries.
AFP, among more than a dozen other fact-checking organizations, is paid by TikTok in several countries to verify videos that potentially contain false information.