Largely ineffective: Albania lifts TikTok ban again

The access ban, which came into force on March 13th of the previous year, was for the Duration of one year is planned.

The stabbing was the trigger

The measure was triggered by a stabbing among young people at the end of 2024, in which a 14-year-old was killed. The two groups involved had become hostile to each other on TikTok and arranged to have a brawl that ended up being fatal.

According to experts, the TikTok ban that was subsequently imposed proved to be largely ineffective. Most Albanians got around it by using tunnel services (VPN), which make it possible to hide one’s IP address. The block can be bypassed because the user does not appear as someone clicking on the blocked platform from Albania.

According to an assessment by the private data analysis company Pikasa Analytics, based in the North Macedonian capital Skopje, TikTok usage had hardly changed a week after the TikTok ban came into force in Albania. The company stated on its website that the number of postings fell by only 3.3 percent and that of video views increased by 14 percent.

Constructive conversations with TikTok managers

Prime Minister Rama told the news portal “politico.eu” in December last year that he had held discussions with representatives of the Chinese platform’s owners, which he described as constructive. “The ban was effective because it led to contact with TikTok and brought some security features that were not previously in place,” he continued. There is no public information about the details of the security measures mentioned – such as filters for minors or against hate and violent content.