Albania has come up with a one-year estrangement of the use of TikTok following the unfortunate watching of a teenager which was said to involve the use of the app. This decision has been made in lieu of the growing concerns regarding the role of the app concerning youth engagement in dangerous challenges on the internet.
The ban put into effect immediately strives to curtail the incidence of any future unfortunate events that can arise out of the use of social media which is not properly moderated. The Albanian government representatives issued a statement claiming that the policy was framed with an intention of keeping the youth safe from challenges and trends that are circulating the internet.
This decision was reached after a teenager was murdered during an engagement of a dangerous challenge that was said to be sponsored via TikTok. Although the investigations are yet to reach a conclusion, this incident has triggered the discussion of the effects of social media on teenagers at a national scale.
TikTok's fame to the younger generations has brought with it a commotion that was bound to arise at some point; the app’s controversial nature has made it the center of turmoil in several countries and does raise some profound moral issues, which Albania seems to be addressing with their recent decree.
Albania seems to be in a rush to become progressive and more appealing to the youth, however, meetings where the authorities demonstrated the ‘safety’ the citizens seek have also come in their direction.
While they are going down this road, they are also looking towards increased engagement with social media firms and reprimanding other sites to adopt more robust protocols. Uncensored Information is an environment most of society strives in, and the ban on TikTok has violated this principle for several, as the youth revolted against it.
However, there was also a different narrative that supported this ban claiming it upholds the safety of minors. Further to these claims, other officials in Albania argued that this kind of action and ban on other foreign tools might bring the necessary change.
