Albania joins a growing list of countries that block or temporarily block TikTok, the state announced a one-year ban on the platform.
The decision comes after nationwide protests and government unrest following the killing of a 14-year-old boy in November by one of his classmates, who shared the aftermath on Snapchat. The Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, said that social media, but especially TikTok, encourages the increase of violence among young people in the country. “TikTok will not exist in the Republic of Albania,” Rama said. “TikTok is a neighborhood criminal. We will drive this criminal out of our neighborhood for one year.”
Which countries have banned TikTok?
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Despite the ban, Rama said the government will introduce new programs to educate children and support parents – the country’s leader has been meeting with teachers, students, parents and psychologists for the past month to address growing fears about social media and children. No other details were provided at the time.
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Some countries are testing stricter laws aimed at protecting children on social media more broadly, turning these issues into bigger claims for digital and national security. Countries across North America, Europe and Asia have imposed various restrictions on TikTok. The US TikTok divestiture requirement, a ban on truth, is expected to come into effect on January 19, and will currently be appealed to the Supreme Court, TikTok and others saying it violates freedom of expression. In May, a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a bill that would ban social media use by people 13 and under.
In November, Australia passed a direct ban on social media use by children under the age of 16, putting the onus to keep users off the platforms on the social media companies themselves. The ban will apply to Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, X, and YouTube, among others. The UK is currently opposed to a similar ban on social media.
However, experts are divided on whether banning social media is the way forward. A major report from the nonprofit National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine declined to recommend banning platforms, arguing that current research linking social media to negative mental health outcomes is not strong enough to suggest a direct cause-and-effect relationship. Instead, the committee says, legislators should examine strict industry standards and transparency.