Albania to ban TikTok for a year after fatal youth stabbing

Albania is planning a one-year ban for social media site TikTok, a popular Chinese short video app, after a teenager was killed last month.

Prime Minister Edi Rama made the announcement on Saturday following a meeting with parents' groups and teachers from across the country. He cited a growing concern over the influence of social media on children

"We are going to chase this thug out of our neighborhood for one year," Rama said during the meeting.

"In China, TikTok promotes how students can take courses, how to protect nature, how to keep traditions," he said, referring to the company's home market. "On the TikTok outside China we see only scum and mud. Why do we need this? The problem is not the children but our entire society."

What incident led to the decision to ban TikTok?

The ban is part of a bigger plan to help make schools safer within Albania and will come into force in six to eight weeks after the necessary "technical preparations" are made.

The decision was made less than a month after a 14-year-old student was killed and another injured in a fight near a school in Tirana.

The fight allegedly developed from an online confrontation on social media. 

How have TikTok responded?

Tiktok, which is owned by the Beijing-based ByteDance company, said it was seeking "urgent clarity" from the Albanian government following Saturday's announcement.

It rebuffed some claims that the fight was organized through its social media app.

"We found no evidence that the perpetrator or victim had TikTok accounts," a company spokesman said. "Multiple reports have in fact confirmed videos leading up to this incident were being posted on another platform, not TikTok."

Which countries have cited concerns over TikTok?

A number of European countries including Germany, France and Belgium have already imposed restrictions on social media use for children.

Countries near Albania, such as Kosovo, North Macedonia and Serbia, have recently reported a negative impact which they blame on the platform, especially on youth. 

At least 22 cases of self-harm among girls from different schools in Kosovo reported two months ago were blamed on a TikTok challenge, while two weeks ago, local media in North Macedonia reported a hospital treated dozens of teenagers for injuries sustained after attempting a "Superman" challenge involving being thrown into the air.

TikTok has also faced accusations of espionage in the United States, while it is under investigation by the European Union over claims it was used to sway Romania's presidential election in favour of a far-right candidate.

km/msh (Reuters, AFP, dpa)