The Journalists' Association warns of lawsuit in the Constitutional Court for the closure of Tik Tok

The head of the Albanian Journalists Association (AGSH), Isa Myzyraj, told BIRN that the Albanian government's decision to block the social media platform Tik Tok violated freedom of expression and contradicted the Constitution.

“We consider this action dangerous for freedom of expression and have already started work on sending the case to the Constitutional Court ,” Myzyraj said. “Any action that violates freedom of expression will be challenged by us in the Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights ,” he added.

At the request of the Electronic Postal Communications Authority (AKEP), companies providing internet services in the country are expected to block access to the Tik Tok application in Albania on Thursday.

This blockage follows the decision of the Council of Ministers dated March 6, 2025, to close the platform due to the alleged negative effect on the psycho-emotional health of children.

TikTok is a social media platform focused on short videos. It was created by the Chinese company ByteDance and allows users to create, edit, and share short videos with special effects, music, and various filters.

Prime Minister Edi Rama stated in a post on the social network 'X' that the decision to close the Tik Tok platform was made by the government after extensive consultations with parents and teachers.

"This is a decision made in broad consultation with 65,000 parents and teachers, and the second is a decision made after the necessary technical capacities were established ," Rama writes.

The figures provided by the prime minister cannot be independently verified, as his meetings were not held in the presence of the media. However, domestic and international freedom of expression organizations have been critical of the government's decision.

Blerjana Bino, executive director of the SCiDEV center, told BIRN that this is a precedent that violates fundamental human rights.

"We are concerned about the precedent being created by the total closure of Tik Tok, i.e. a precedent of "internet shutdown", thus violating the fundamental rights of citizens such as freedom of expression," said Bino.

"Under the pretext of child safety, the government could similarly shut down other platforms tomorrow, media or the internet itself, because they cause 'harm,'" she added.

The SCiDEV director further added that obtaining consent from parents in emotionally charged conditions caused by a tragedy is not a regular consultation process and cannot serve as an excuse for the total closure of the platform.

"There is no public report of this alleged consultation other than the media appearances of the Prime Minister and the relevant Minister in schools," said Bino, emphasizing that everyone is concerned about the safety of children, but there are other proportional measures that can be taken.

"Albania is two months away from parliamentary elections, and the closure of a platform that has become an important medium for new voices in politics and beyond, raises further concerns about the intent behind it ," Bino stressed.

Even AGSH leader Isa Myzyraj said that this decision is practically a precedent for other acts of censorship in a country with an autocratic government.

"This clearly shows that our institutions are autocratic and unresponsive, despite dozens of local and international organizations expressing concern about the closure of Tik Tok," he said.

"We are shocked that the government has not taken any reflection or step back regarding this situation ," Myzyraj concluded./ BIRN