Albania PM says TikTok ban was not a ‘rushed reaction to a single incident’

Albania’s prime minister defends TikTok ban, citing careful consideration and concern for youth safety

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The TikTok application is particularly popular with young people around the world. File photo: AP

Published: 3:47am, 23 Dec 2024Updated: 10:16am, 23 Dec 2024

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 closing 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 social media on Sunday, insisted the ban was a “carefully considered decision made in consultation with parent communities in schools across the country”.

Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama. File photo: AFP

“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 the capital Tirana.