Ida Ismail
In a controversial announcement, Prime Minister Edi Rama has announced the controversial closure of TikTok for a year, citing concerns about its impact on violence and bullying among children. The decision, presented in response to the tragedy of a stabbing at a Tirana school, is questionable due to the lack of public consultation and questionable claims of widespread support from parents. Many critics suggest that the ban may have more to do with political strategy than security, as the 2025 elections approach.
TikTok, a platform launched by the Chinese company ByteDance in 2016 to create short videos, music, lip sync, comedy, etc., quickly became a source of income, especially for influencers and businesses. Within 4 years, TikTok surpassed 2 billion downloads on mobile devices worldwide.
TikTok, a "dangerous" platform, will be shut down for 1 year
Prime Minister Edi Rama announced the closure of TikTok for 1 year, describing it as a dangerous platform that incites violence and bullying among children. This initiative was taken after the serious incident of November 18, 2024, at the "Fan Noli" school in Tirana, where Martin Cani was stabbed to death by his peer. "He is the neighborhood thug that we are afraid the child will associate with when he leaves the house. We have done research and it will take us 6-8 weeks starting from the beginning of January and for 1 year, TikTok will be completely closed for everyone," said Rama.
State Police and Prosecution: TikTok has nothing to do with the "Fan Noli" incident
The State Police, in response to a request for information sent by the "Sinjalizo" platform, states that the incident between the minors originated on TikTok, but the conflict and fight between them continued on the Snapchat network. Making the Snapchat platform responsible for the situation. "There is no connection to TikTok," says State Police spokesman Gentian Mullai to "Sinjalizo".
General Prosecutor's Office: No case with consequences from TikTok
As for cases in the justice system, the General Prosecutor's Office states that there have been no cases referred to this institution with consequences from TikTok or Snapchat.
Rama very active on Facebook, compared to Instagram or TikTok
On the Facebook platform, Prime Minister Edi Rama has 1.6 million followers and is active every day, through 3-4 posts, whether of his meetings at home and abroad, the promotion of tourist destinations, the activities of his government cabinet, but also of election campaigns. Rama often uses this platform to develop conversations with citizens, through questions that they address to him on Facebook.
On the Instagram platform, Prime Minister Edi Rama has 609 thousand followers, posts photos and videos, but is not as active as on Facebook.
Meanwhile, on the TikTok platform, which Rama wants to close, he has far fewer followers (138.2 thousand) compared to Facebook and Instagram. On this platform, Rama is not as active as on other social networks and his last post on TikTok was made on November 18, 2024, the day when the serious incident occurred when the minor Martin Cani was stabbed to death. Apparently, Rama's focus on social networks is more focused on the Facebook platform.
Rama makes the decision himself, without public hearings
The decision to temporarily close TikTok came to Prime Minister Edi Rama as a request from parents themselves, during meetings with them. Rama said that 1300 meetings have been held, with the participation of 65 parents, and it was a request from over 90% of them to close this platform in Albania.
TikTok, propaganda of consultations in schools
8 days after the serious incident that occurred at the "Fan Noli" school, Minister of Education Ogerta Manastirliu, together with Prime Minister Edi Rama, launched a broad consultation tour with the parent community, which, according to them, will serve to strengthen mechanisms for preventing acts of violence in schools and the influence of the social networks TikTok and Snapchat.
In the span of 2 weeks, only 5 meetings were held in schools.
2 meetings were held throughout November, namely on November 26 at the “Sami Frashëri” school in Tirana and on November 30 at the “Janaq Kilica” school in Fier.
While 3 meetings were held in December: On December 2 at the “Kosova” school in Tirana, on December 5 at the “Halit Coka” school in Kamëz and on December 11 at the “Asim Vokshi” school in Tirana.
On December 11, Education Minister Ogerta Manastirliu declared that 600 meetings and consultations with parents had been held. 10 days later, without any meetings having been held, this easily verifiable, as no posts had been made on their social networks, as had happened before, the minister herself unveiled the New Action Plan, where she said that 1300 consultations had been held in all schools in the country.
In 25 days, it is claimed that 1300 meetings were held.
From November 26 to December 21, that is, for 25 days, Manastirliu claims to have held 1300 meetings with parents. A simple calculation shows that 52 meetings were held per day. This is physically impossible, but also without any minutes, except for propaganda videos of 5 meetings.
Even the Chinese company is against Rama's decision
In a response to the Associated Press, the Chinese company says it has found no evidence that the perpetrator or victim of the fight in front of the "Fan Noli" school had accounts on the TikTok platform and that numerous reports have confirmed that the videos that led to this tragedy were posted on another platform.
Over 1.5 million Albanians affected by TikTok shutdown, influencers switch to Clapper
The closure of the Tik-Tok social network will affect 1 million Albanians. According to the World Population Review website, this is the number of accounts that this platform has in Albania. After the announcement of the closure of TikTok, social media personalities have switched to a similar platform, called Clapper. This platform was created in America in 2020 and is otherwise considered "TikTok for adults". Even on this platform, users can earn money through their success in watched videos or various games. There are no filters and restrictions here either. What raises concerns is that the risks that came from Tik-Tok may also be on Clapper.
IT Expert: TikTok Shutdown Impacts Dizzying Revenue
IT expert Edmond Liçaj says that this decision has more of a political overtone, where it is intended to have conditions and accountability requirements for the platform. Liçaj underlines that other countries such as Australia or European Union countries, some countries in Asia have restricted this platform, but have not closed it. Liçaj said: It has an impact on the staggering revenues, while Clapper has nothing to do with TikTok's algorithm and its popularity.
Economic expert Zef Preçi: Closing TikTok, a measure during the election period
Economic expert Zef Preçi does not see the closure of TikTok as a solution for the "education" of children or young people, but more as a measure in terms of elections. Preçi says: The country has entered an electoral process for the May 2025 elections and this step may also reduce the interaction of politicians with voters. This measure also resembles a positioning of the government and Mr. Rama in line with President Trump's well-known position on this issue, which means that the international context should not be overlooked.
Online Businesses: The Impact of TikTok Shutdown on Sales
Meanwhile, various analyses are circulating about the economic impact that this ban could bring, given that many small businesses and merchants use the platform to sell products. A girl who deals with the flower business and has an account on TikTok says that she will keep this platform active, by purchasing a number outside Albania. “The closure of TikTok affects my business,” says the 28-year-old, as we receive many orders after advertising on the TikTok platform.
Even the 38-year-old with the initials IK, who has been active on TikTok for 3 years and has about 2 thousand active followers on his 60 accounts, speaks out against the closure of TikTok. He said: "Through videos, I try to create informative and entertaining materials. I am against the closure of TikTok and all other online platforms, as the audience decides for itself what it will choose to see, just like it does for TV and radio. The closure also affects me financially, as over the years I have had collaborations with businesses to promote their products."
Citizens for the closure of TikTok
A citizen proposes education as a solution:
"Let's close the TikTok platform, it's having a big impact on teenagers. People need to be re-educated, derogatory language is being used on online platforms."
While teenagers are against closing TikTok: "No, there's no reason for it to be closed, we spend time online and it makes us happy."
AMA collaboration with TikTok, for harmful materials
The Audiovisual Media Authority informs "Sinjalizo" that from the collaboration with TikTok, during 2024 there were 291 reports of harmful content and 286 of them were removed.
Regarding the decision to temporarily close TikTok, the Audiovisual Media Authority states that there is no signed agreement with Tik-Tok, but only cooperation,
Coverage of the news of TikTok's closure in international media
The news of the closure of TIkTok in Albania has found wide coverage in the international media. Highlighting the murder of the 14-year-old at the 9-year-old “Fan Noli” school in Tirana as the reason, media such as Corriere della Serra, La Repubblica, The Guardian, Reuters, Bloomberg, TRT, Serbian and Greek media have conveyed to their public the decision taken by the Albanian government and announced by Prime Minister Edi Rama.
"The measure was taken as part of a new national safety program for children in schools," foreign media write.
Rama in Davos with TikTok representatives, does not back down from decision
During a meeting at the Economic Forum in Davos, with Christine Grahn, TikTok's representative for Europe, Rama stated that there is cooperation in the coming months to ensure the reopening of TikTok, at a reasonable time and after all guarantees have been received.
Countries that have banned TikTok
Unlike countries like the US, Canada and Australia, which have banned TikTok only for state officials, Albania has taken this step to prevent the "spread of violence and negative cultural influences."
In total, around 20 countries have banned TikTok today. India took the step in 2020, fearing possible Chinese interference in national political life, followed by Nepal, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, etc.
