Albania announced a one-year ban on the popular short video app TikTok on Saturday, sparking fears over the social media’s impact on children after the murder of a teenager last month.
The ban, part of a broader plan to make schools safer, will take effect early next year, Prime Minister Eddy Rama said after meeting with parent groups and teachers across the country.
“For one year, we will completely shut it down for everyone. There will be no TikTok in Albania,” Rama said.
Several European countries, including France, Germany and Belgium, have banned social media use for children. In one of the world’s toughest regulations targeting Big Tech, Australia approved a blanket social media ban for children under 16 in November.
Ram accused social media and especially TikTok of spreading violence among youth inside and outside schools.
His government’s decision comes after a 14-year-old schoolboy was stabbed by a fellow student in November. According to the local media, the incident took place after a dispute between two boys on social media. A video supporting the killing of a minor was also released on TikTok.
“Today’s problem is not our children, today’s problem is us, today’s problem is our society, today’s problem is TikTok and everyone who is holding our children hostage,” said Rama.
TikTok said it was seeking “immediate clarity” from the Albanian government.
“We have found no evidence that either the perpetrators or the victim have TikTok accounts, and multiple reports have confirmed that the videos that actually led to this incident were posted on another platform, not on TikTok,” a company spokesperson said.
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