TIRANA, December 13 /ATA/ The social networks have become an inseparable part of our lives while online violence has become a worrying phenomenon that is increasingly affecting Albanian citizens, especially the young people.
As part of the “16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence” campaign, state institutions, and in particular the National Authority for Cybersecurity have assumed an important role in facing this new challenge, by building mechanisms for protection, reporting and public awareness.
Floreta Faber, deputy director of the Authority, told ATA that, “Online violence is defined as any form of aggression, threat or insult that occurs through the internet and digital platforms.”
“In Albania, the most widespread forms are cyberbullying, digital blackmail, fake identity fraud and hate speech on social networks”, said Faber.
According to Faber, “The minors are the most at-risk age group and are most exposed to cyberbullying, as they are the most active users of social networks and often do not have the necessary knowledge to protect personal data”.
“According to data from the Authority and the State Police for 2025, there have been registered over 1,200 cases of cyberbullying,” she said.
Faber said that the handling of a complaint about cyberbullying follows a clear institutional procedure.
To strengthen the protection of children, the Authority has offered the “Report” platform, which enables anonymous reporting of cases of online violence.
Faber underlined that, “The latest data shows that during the period January-September, there were reported 184 cases of malicious online content on this platform. About 69 percent of the people affected by this malicious online content were minors, under 18 years old.”
“While women accounted for 73 percent of the victims of this illegal content,” she emphasized.
Faber stated that online violence is a challenge that requires a coordinated response from all levels of society.
“The Albanian government, through Authority and other institutions, has laid the foundations of a digital protection system, but the work must be deepened to create a safe virtual environment for every child and citizen,” Faber concluded. /e.i/a.f/r.e/p.s./
