Albania blocks Tiktok access for one year

Prime Minister Edi Rama had already announced the Tiktok ban last December, but did not specify a date for its entry into force at the time.

The portal, which is successful with short videos, belongs to the China-based Bytedance Group. Rama justified the block by stating that content on Tiktok endangered children and young people.

Discussions about the possible harmful effects of Tiktok arose in Albania after a 14-year-old schoolboy was killed in a stabbing at the end of last year. The two groups of young people involved had been antagonizing each other on Tiktok and had arranged to fight each other in what ended up being a fatal brawl.

According to the media reports, the Akep has sent an e-mail to all internet service providers in Albania asking them to block access to Tiktok by March 13 and to submit written documentation to the authority about their actions. Internet blocks in a country can generally be circumvented by protected network connections (VPN). VPN tunnels can make it appear as if a user is in another country.