Albania banned the use of the TikTok app, owned by the Chinese company Byte Dance, for a year, after a teenager was killed last month, amid growing concerns about the impact of social media on children.
The decision to ban application in Albania will take effect early next year, according to Reuters.
The decision comes after a 14-year-old student was stabbed to death in November by a classmate at the school.
Local media reported that the incident came in the wake of clashes between the two children on social media, and videos were circulated on the TikTok application of minors supporting the murder.
Prime Minister Edi Rama said after meeting with parent-teacher groups from across the country that the ban is part of a broader plan to make schools safer, adding: “There will be no Tik Tok in Albania for one year, we will close it completely for everyone.”
Rama blamed social media, and TikTok in particular, for fueling violence among young people in and out of school.
“The problem today is not our children, the problem today is us, the problem today is our society, the problem today is TikTok and all the others who take our children hostage,” according to the Prime Minister.
Many European countries including France, Germany and Belgium have imposed restrictions on the use of social media for children.
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