Protest in Tirana at Albanian government's TikTok ban

It's Saturday evening in Tirana, the capital of Albania, and 14-year-old Martin B. is sitting on the sidewalk in front of the building that houses the prime minister's office.

Martin is one of hundreds of young people who gathered there on Saturday evening to protest the government's decision to shut down TikTok for 12 months.

The protest was called by the Albanian opposition after the left-wing government of Prime Minister Edi Rama decided to ban the short-form video-sharing app because it says it is fueling youth violence in schools.

People in the Albanian capital, Tirana, on Saturday evening protested the Albanian government's ban on TikTokImage: Elona Elezi/DW

Martin B. says that while he has nothing to do with politics, the government's decision is "not a smart solution."

"Banning TikTok will not solve the situation," he told DW. "On the contrary, it will create bigger problems. Because young people will find other pro-Chinese apps to navigate — as is happening in the US — and they could steal more data and sensitive information from our phones."

A father's pain and indignation

The ban was triggered by the death of another 14-year-old boy named Martin, who was stabbed by a fellow pupil at his school in Tirana last November after an argument on social media that had been going on for several days.

A month later, the government decided to ban TikTok.

The boy's father, Engjell Cani, told DW that "Martin never had a TikTok account, and he didn't die because of TikTok."

It is estimated that about 1.5 million people in Albania, most of them young, use TikTokImage: Elona Elezi/DW

"Our family condemns the use of our son's murder for political purposes," said Cani. "We have followed with deep pain and indignation the way our tragedy is being used for political purposes and to justify the government's decision to close the TikTok social network."

TikTok was not involved

TikTok itself also confirmed that Martin Cani didn't use the app. TikTok, which is owned by a Chinese company, issued a statement immediately after the government announced the ban in December, saying that it was seeking further clarification from the Albanian government because the videos that led up to the stabbing "were being posted on another platform, not TikTok."

In January, Prime Minister Rama met Christine Grahn, TikTok's Head of Government Relations and Public Policy for Europe. He described the meeting as "fully open and constructive" and said that the two had "established several collaboration milestones for the coming weeks and months."

Neither the Albanian government nor TikTok issued an official statement after the meeting, which was viewed in Albania as an indication that the government might be softening its stance on a possible TikTok ban.

The opposition says that the government of Prime Minister Edi Rama (pictured here in Berlin earlier this month) introduced the ban for political reasons. Rama hopes to win a fourth term in office in the parliamentary election in MayImage: Joerg Carstensen/dpa/picture alliance

But when the government announced on March 7 that it intended to go ahead with the ban, the opposition parties claimed that the shutdown was motivated by the upcoming parliamentary election on May 11.

Shutdown has begun

After the government's decision, Albania's National Authority for Cybersecurity (AKSK) ordered all internet providers in the country to submit written confirmation that TikTok would be switched off in Albania by March 13.

This includes blocking relevant IP addresses and DNS servers linked to the app as well as the addresses of the ByteDance company, which allows users to navigate TikTok despite the ban.

Although he did not speak himself during the protest, opposition leader Sali Berisha told journalists after the rally that 'TikTok will be back on May 12' (the day after the general election)Image: Vlasov Sulaj/AP Photo/picture alliance

Albania's move follows bans or partial bans in at least 20 other countries amid worries about improper video content or security concerns.

Claims of pre-election censorship

But opposition parties in Albania rejected the reasons for the ban given by the government. The leader of the Democratic Party, Sali Berisha, called the move censorship ahead the general elections on May 11.

Prime Minister Edi Rama is hoping to win a fourth term in office in May.

Unusually for the opposition leader, Berisha did not actually speak himself at the protest, which lasted about an hour, giving the floor instead to young protesters, who held up signs with slogans such as "You sent TikTok into emigration, too" and "Freedom of speech, not censorship."

But while the government and the opposition argue over the ban, teenager Martin B. remains concerned and believes that bullying and violence in Albanian schools will continue.

"I am not sure if the incidents in our schools will stop with the TikTok ban," he said.

Edited by: Aingeal Flanagan