Every afternoon, Ergus Katiaj uploads a video on TikTok to remind his customers that his shop in Tirana delivers chips, cigarettes and alcoholic drinks during the night. His phone doesn’t stop ringing for orders that bring him around 1,000 euros extra monthly profit.
But Katiatz will soon have to find a new way to attract his customers. Albania’s government has imposed a year-long ban on the app, which it says aims to curb youth crime, but which business owners and human rights groups say threatens trade and free speech ahead of elections of May.
“It will have a huge impact on my business because most of the sales are done through deliveries thanks to the free promotion of products through TikTok,” says Katiatz, delivering goods on the outskirts of the capital.
Prime Minister Edi Rama announced the ban on December 21 after a 14-year-old student was fatally stabbed by a classmate in November, a crime that local media reports said was committed after the two boys had an online argument.
TikTok is expected to be disabled within the next few weeks.
The move follows bans or partial bans in at least 20 countries over concerns about inappropriate videos or security concerns linked to the app’s owner, China-based ByteDance, and its proximity to the Chinese government.
In Albania, Rama claimed the decision came after discussions with parents and teachers, but her opponents worry the move is part of the prime minister’s efforts to crack down on dissidents after a year of popular uprisings.
“This sets a dangerous precedent with governments being able to shut down various platforms at any time,” says Orkidea Zaferaj of Tirana-based think tank SCiDEV.
TikTok said it is seeking “urgent clarification” from the Albanian government because, it says, “multiple reports have in fact confirmed that the videos that led to the student’s death were posted on another platform and not on TikTok.”
Protesters and prosecutors
In the past year there have been systematic protests in Albania against the imprisonment of Rama’s political opponents. Demonstrators threw Molotov cocktails at government buildings and police responded with tear gas and water pumps.
The leaders of the two largest opposition parties – Sali Berisha of the Democratic Party and Ilir Meta of the Freedom Party – face corruption charges.
Both deny the charges, which they say are politically motivated.
Arlind Kyori, the leader of the Mazi political party formed in 2022, said the ban on TikTok curtails a powerful opposition communication tool.
“He wants to shut us up,” says Kyori from his office where party supporters have taken refuge from the cold and discussed their pre-election plans.
Rama, for his part, insists that this move is aimed at protecting young people.
In an alley in the center of Tirana, a photo of the murdered child hangs from a power pole, with withered clothes and messages from his friends tied to it.
There he was attacked with a knife and walked bleeding to his school before the ambulance arrived.
“Within Chinese TikTok, you don’t see hooliganism, perversion, violence, bullying, crime. Whereas on TikTok outside of China (you see) only scum and scum. Why do we need this?” Rama said last month in announcing his decision.
Source: RES
Read also:
Dinosaurs: Britain’s largest footprint area discovered (Photos)
Turkey: Is the ice breaking between Erdogan and Ocalan?
Elon Musk’s continued intervention in Europe: He now calls for the release of a well-known British far-right
#Albania #Political #controversies #ban #TikTok
