"Albania shuts down TikTok for a year amid concerns over violence among children", 6 March 2025

The Albanian Cabinet decided on Thursday to shut down TikTok for 12 months... for [allegedly] inciting violence and bullying, especially among children. Education Minister Ogerta Manastirliu said officials are in contact with TikTok on installing filters like parental control, age verification and the inclusion of the Albanian language in the application...

TikTok did not immediately respond to a request to comment on the government’s decision.

When Prime Minister Edi Rama said in December they were aiming at closing the social media platform, TikTok asked for “urgent clarity from the Albanian government” on the case of the stabbed teenager... On Thursday Rama said they were in a “positive dialogue with the company,” and that TikTok would visit the country soon to offer “a series of measures on increasing the security for children.”

The company said it had “found no evidence that the perpetrator or victim had TikTok accounts, and multiple reports have in fact confirmed videos leading up to this incident were being posted on another platform, not TikTok.”...