Albania to shut down TikTok for one year after fears app promotes violence to children

Albania's prime minister says his government will shut down the video sharing platform, TikTok, for one year blaming it on inciting violence and bullying, particularly to children.

It comes after a teenager was stabbed by another teenager in November after an argument started on social media.

Since then authorities in Albania have held 1,300 meetings with teachers and parents with 90% approving the ban of TikTok.

Albanian parents have been increasingly concerned of children using the TikTok after reports of children taking knives and other objects to school was seen promoted on the app.

Prime Minister Edi Rama said the ultimatum "couldn’t be clearer, either TikTok protects the children of Albania, or Albania will protect its children from TikTok."

“The ban on TikTok for one year in Albania is not a rushed reaction to a single incident, but a carefully considered decision made in consultation with parent communities in schools across the country,” said Rama.

TikTok said they have asked for “urgent clarity from the Albanian government” in the case of the stabbed teenager.

The company said it had “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.”

In response to TikTok, Rama said: "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 and the rationale behind our decision to take responsibility for addressing this threat."

“Albania may be too small to demand that TikTok protect children and youth from the frightening pitfalls of its algorithm,” he said, blaming TikTok for “the reproduction of the unending hell of the language of hatred, violence, bullying and so on.”

However, many children in Albania, who make up the largest proportion of TikTok users in the country, disapprove of the ban.

Samuel Sulmani, an 18-year-old in the town of Rreshen, said: “We disclose our daily life and entertain ourselves, that is, we exploit it during our free time."

"We do not agree with that because that’s a deprivation for us.”

Subscribe free to our weekly newsletter for exclusive and original coverage from ITV News. Direct to your inbox every Friday morning.

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know...