The goal of the temporarily ban on this social media platform is to prevent negative impact and societal upheaval, violent or hateful content especially among children, leading to problems in their psycho-social development, as well as the protection of personal data.

The government expects the TikTok ban to remain in force until the online platform providers find technical tools and filters that regulate children’s access to platform’s harmful and violent content.

Under the government decision, the Ministry of Education and Sports, in collaboration with regulatory authorities and other relevant stakeholders, is tasked with contacting with TikTok executives and representatives of other online platforms to tackle public security and societal issues in the digital environment, including effective operation of age verification systems for platform users; the operation of parental control systems regarding content that affects physical, psychological or moral development of children; avoiding the publication of materials containing violence, bullying, hate speech or inappropriate vocabulary; adapting and using moderation filters for the Albanian language and national culture.

The government assigns the National Cybersecurity Agency, in collaboration with regulatory entities, to take necessary measures and enforce decision on blocking access to Tik-Tok.

The Ministry of Education and Sports, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, the National Cybersecurity Authority, the National Information Society Agency and sectoral regulatory authorities are responsible for enforcement of this decision.

The decision enters into force after publication on the Official Gazette.

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