Albanian lawmakers have decided to shut down TikTok for one year, accusing the video platform of inciting violence and bullying, especially among young people.
Education Minister Ogerta Manastirliu said they are in talks with TikTok about introducing filters such as parental controls, as well as adding the Albanian language to the app.
The authorities held 1,300 meetings with about 65,000 parents who “recommended and expressed support for closing or restricting the TikTok platform,” the minister said.
Albania's cabinet initiated the measure last year after an incident in November in which one teenager stabbed another to death following a dispute that began on TikTok.
TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the government's decision.
When Prime Minister Edi Rama announced his intention to shut down the social media platform in December, TikTok asked the Albanian government for “urgent clarity” on the case of a teenager who was stabbed.
Mr Rama said on Thursday that they were in “positive dialogue with the company” which would soon visit the country to propose “a range of measures to improve child safety”.
The company noted that it “found no evidence of TikTok accounts for either the perpetrator or the victim, and multiple reports have actually confirmed that the videos leading up to this incident were posted on a platform other than TikTok.”
According to researchers, Albanian children make up the largest group of TikTok users in the country.
Parents in Albania are growing concerned after reports of children being tempted to bring knives to school by social media content or facing bullying organised through TikTok stories.
Authorities have increased police presence in some schools and taken other measures, including training programs for teachers, students and their parents.
The opposition has spoken out against the closure of TikTok and planned a protest against the move on March 15. It said the ban was “an act of intolerance, fear and terror against freedom of thought and expression.”
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
