
Flash News
"Vox Populi Vex Dei", Balliu shares details from the protest for Politiko, calls on citizens: Look at your pocket, look at your bills
FRPD youth protest in front of SPAK: We are here to open Mr. Dumani's ears, Rama should be investigated
He killed his wife in front of their two children, the expert report on the 30-year-old, Lulzim Toçi, is out
Daut Laze's prison escape, Lezha court releases three guards
Injury in Korça, 22-year-old man wanted
Click Economy: What does Albania lose with the closure of TikTok?
At the end of December, Prime Minister Rama announced the closure of the TikTok platform in Albania for one year, attributing to this platform the extreme acts of violence that have affected Albanian youth, as well as linking this platform to harmful content circulating on the network.
During his speech, Rama stated that the social platform was harmful to young people.
"TikTok is the 'neighborhood streetwalker' that we fear the child will associate with when leaving the house," Rama said during his speech, adding that they had done all the research in terms of technology before making the decision to close the platform.
TikTok is a social platform that offers numerous opportunities for creativity and entertainment, making it particularly attractive to the younger generation. It is often criticized for exposing young people to inappropriate content, reinforcing a culture of social comparison and pressure to meet certain aesthetic or social standards.
However, artists, journalists and activists interviewed by BIRN, who use the TikTok platform to share ideas and promote their talent, as well as the opportunity to learn through educational and entertaining content, disagree with the head of government's decision.
According to them, shutting down TikTok would not improve security in the country or reduce violence among young people. On the other hand, they emphasize that it would cost users a lot to lose the audience they have built up over the years.
Tik Tok, the platform of opportunities
TikTok is a social platform for sharing short videos, created by the Chinese company ByteDance in 2016. Users can create and share videos with music, various effects, and filters, making the app particularly attractive to younger age groups.
In Albania, TikTok has gained immense popularity, with over 1.5 million users. According to a report by Kepios, 35% of these users are between the ages of 12 and 25, making this age group the dominant user of the platform.
This rapid growth in users has led to discussions about the platform's impact on society, especially regarding the content being promoted and the potential effects on Albanian youth.
Brenton Bënja, technology journalist and founder of the media outlet 'GeekRoom Albania', told BIRN that social networks are vital to the work of their digital media outlet founded in 2018.
“We use TikTok, Instagram, YouTube to reach our audience,” he said. “Since that’s where the most active users are, TikTok is particularly important for us because it allows us to reach a younger and more dynamic audience, with educational content but also with the creative formats that this platform enables,” Bënja said.
Postimet dhe lajmet teknologjike të GeekRoom kanë arritur një audiencë prej 120 mijë ndjekësish, por themeluesi Bënja shprehet se 60% të tyre janë në platformën TikTok.
“Postimet tona në TikTok kanë arritur me miliona shikime dhe janë bërë pjesë e bisedave të ndryshme të teknologjisë,” tha Brenton. “Kemi njerëz që e mbështesin çdo ditë punën tonë dhe informohen nga videot që ne publikojmë,” shtoi ai.
Ngjashëm, edhe Marin Hoxha, aktor dhe komediani 23-vjeçar nga Tirana, shprehet se audienca që ka në TikTok nuk mund të krahasohet me atë të rrjeteve të tjera sociale.
“TikTok ka qenë rrjeti që më ka bërë më të njohur, ndërsa Instagramin e kam përdorur si diçka formale më shumë për t’u kontaktuar,” tha Marini për BIRN.
Ai shtoi se suksesin më të madh ia ka dhënë platforma TikTok, duke e ndihmuar të marrë edhe projekte të tjera jashtë spektrit të platformës, çka është edhe synimi i tij afatgjatë.
“Nuk e kam monetizuar TikTok-un, e bëj për pasion dhe më pëlqen që vala e admirimit dhe dashurisë sa vjen e po shtohet,” Marini për BIRN. “Kjo më ka bërë të mos ndaloj,” shtoi ai.
Edhe Matias Ndini, regjizor dhe themelues i studios multimediale “MBN Pictures”, pranon se i është dashur një punë disavjeçare për të ndërtuar audiencën e përkushtuar që tanimë ka në rrjetet sociale.
“Me futjen e marketingut të fuqishëm dhe me ikjen e televizionit si reklamim për bizneset e ndryshme, media sociale është kryesuese në çdo lloj gjëje të jetës sonë,” tha Matias për BIRN.
Ai shprehet se studioja e tij ka prezencë në të tëra rrjetet sociale, por TikTok i ka mundësuar të arrijë një gamë më të gjerë njerëzish.
“Na u desh të futeshim në TikTok në fillim si studio dhe patëm një vrull shumë të madh si fillim me editimet që kryenim, filluam të bëjmë video jo vetëm për biznes, por edhe video ‘funny’ që mund të arrinin target grupe të ndryshme,” kujton Matiasi mbi fillimet e biznesit të tij.
“Filluam duke treguar pjesët tona më të mira, por në një mënyrë që e kërkonte media sociale, sigurisht brenda limiteve tona, pa tejkaluar në ofendime, sharje apo bullizëm,” tha Ndini, ndërsa theksoi se mund të tërheqësh audiencë edhe pa i shkelur limitet e etikës.
Problemi i dhunës tek shoqëria
Gjatë viteve të fundit ka shumë krijues të përmbajtjes digjitale në gjuhën shqipe që vazhdimisht po zhvillohen dhe po rriten në popullaritet. Krijuesit e përmbajtjes në YouTube, Instagram, TikTok dhe platforma të tjera sociale ofrojnë përmbajtje të ndryshme si vlogje, tutoriale, komedi, muzikë, dhe shumë të tjera.
Këta profesionistë të rinj, të cilët mundohen të ngrenë një urë lidhëse midis artit, punës dhe ndjekësve të tyre, ndryshe nga qeveria, nuk e shohin problemin e dhunës apo materialeve të dëmshme tek TikTok, por tek shoqëria shqiptare dhe edukimi familjar.
Regjizori Matias Ndini i tha BIRN se të mbyllësh TikTok është një lloj censure, e kamufluar prapa arsyeve të përmbajtjeve të dhunshme.
"While on the META platform you can censor more simply through Bots, you can't do this on TikTok, so this may be the reason why they want to close it, but disguised with the problems that have occurred in Albania recently," he said.
"The government is shutting it down for the wrong reasons, you can't shut down an app where businesses are 100% affected, where artists and various professionals are being recognized on TikTok for their pure profession by advertising what they do," Ndini added.
Actor Marin Hoxha also admits that with the closure of TikTok, he would lose his entire audience and a year and a half of work, without the possibility of regaining followers.
"It seems to me to be a bit of an absurd and radical decision, how can you explain to people who are trying with all their heart and soul to do something good, and then eliminate them along with the negative elements," Marini told BIRN.
He considers TikTok a communication tool like any other, and according to him, communication tools in themselves are never bad.
“You can't blame the vehicle any more than you can blame the people and the mentality of the people on that platform,” Marin Hoxha told BIRN.
Brenton Bënja, founder of GeekRoom, thinks similarly, emphasizing that what happens on TikTok actually reflects what happens in society.
"Shutting down TikTok is not the right solution because the problems of violence and inappropriate content in my opinion are societal problems and not platform problems," he asserted.
According to the founder of 'GeekRoom Albania', violence and problematic behaviors have deeper roots and cannot be solved by closing a social network.
"TikTok reflects what is happening in society, so the solution must start from the family, from school, and then education on the use of technology," he added.
Actor Marin Hoxha told BIRN that by closing TikTok, he would not only lose his fans and audience, but it would also not change the situation of violence in the country.
"I don't think the news we see every day will change after the day TikTok closes," he said, adding that it's not the app that causes violence, it's the mass of people who use it.
"It's like a society that has both good and evil, you decide to wipe out the existence with the aim of eliminating the bad elements, while along with them you are also eliminating all the values that are coming into this society. This doesn't make sense," Hoxha concluded./BIRN
Latest news


Fire in a hotel in Saranda, the first floor is burned down
2025-02-07 15:00:49
Nagip Krasniqi pleads not guilty to abuse charges
2025-02-07 14:49:04
A prostitution ring is busted in Vlora, a Ukrainian woman is wanted
2025-02-07 14:41:02
Albania, the Sorosian garden of Southeast Europe
2025-02-07 14:30:15
Tragic accident in Vlora, 40-year-old arrested for fatally hitting pedestrian
2025-02-07 14:23:34
Primaries/ Berisha: Time is tight, but this does not exclude them
2025-02-07 14:11:18
Clash between drug gangs in Brussels, one dead
2025-02-07 13:59:30





Tritol in a bar in Kruja, police identify the perpetrator and declare him wanted
2025-02-07 12:50:44
70-year-old worker dies during work hours, company administrator wanted
2025-02-07 12:47:19







Accused as part of the "5D" file, Enton Punavia appears before SPAK
2025-02-07 11:29:08

4 ways to calm down from anxiety, according to this psychologist
2025-02-07 11:07:50


Discontent erupts, Durrës' PS clashes with Rama: People are driving us out
2025-02-07 10:25:11

Mental health treatments are only 7% effective
2025-02-07 10:03:57

Daut Laze's prison escape, Lezha court releases three guards
2025-02-07 09:42:31

Eurostat: Albania, the country with the lowest railway density in Europe
2025-02-07 09:19:49

Weather forecast for today
2025-02-07 09:05:56
Santorini hit by thousands of earthquakes BBC: Insecurity grows on Greek island!
2025-02-07 08:56:49
Foreign exchange: How much foreign currencies are bought and sold for today
2025-02-07 08:40:36
Horoscope, February 7, 2025/ What the stars predict for each sign
2025-02-07 08:32:24
Injury in Korça, 22-year-old man wanted
2025-02-07 08:20:06

Morning Post/ In 2 lines: What mattered yesterday in Albania
2025-02-07 08:00:03

Bardhi on VOA: We are very late with the primaries process within the party
2025-02-06 22:37:08
Peoples ruled by crime have worthless, characterless elites!
2025-02-06 22:14:38



USAID closure, Russia welcomes US administration's decision
2025-02-06 21:38:58
Topalli: There is no character who can replace Berisha
2025-02-06 21:29:22
UEFA aims for change in Champions League: Extra time could be abolished
2025-02-06 21:05:53
The snarls of the last 100 days
2025-02-06 21:05:10
White House clarifies President Trump's Gaza plan after backlash
2025-02-06 20:46:26
Car hits pedestrian to death on Levan-Vlora road
2025-02-06 20:39:33
Accident in Elbasan, car hits pedestrian and drives away
2025-02-06 20:28:51

Knife attack in Korça
2025-02-06 20:14:44




Albanian wanted for dog trafficking arrested in Germany
2025-02-06 18:57:36
Trump suspends aid funds, EU delegation reacts
2025-02-06 18:45:04
Kurti responds to Grenell: Relations with the US are better than ever
2025-02-06 18:24:02

Analysis: Syria knocks Iran out of the game
2025-02-06 18:06:29
Found dead with a bullet in his car, young man in Lezha identified
2025-02-06 17:53:20
Paloka: Attack on the opposition and Berisha, part of Soros' global scheme
2025-02-06 17:36:58
Lezha/ Young man found dead in car, first suspicions
2025-02-06 17:30:09
Israel asks army to prepare plan for Palestinian withdrawal from Gaza
2025-02-06 17:18:47

Institutions do not denounce corruption and organized crime
2025-02-06 16:49:01
Totally transformed, Parashqevi Simaku leaves the psychiatric hospital
2025-02-06 16:47:30






3 gambling cases cracked, 6 people arrested and prosecuted
2025-02-06 15:19:36

Earthquakes in Santorini, Greece declares state of emergency on the island
2025-02-06 14:57:54



Imported food prices fell by 7% in 2024, but were not reflected
2025-02-06 13:59:03
January 2025, the hottest in history
2025-02-06 13:43:24
GJKKO sentences "Rrumi i Shijakut" to 10 months in prison
2025-02-06 13:24:15
'The sins of the opposition'
2025-02-06 13:18:15


Media co-organizes Security Forum in the US Congress: Albania is led by Putinism
2025-02-06 12:47:22
Study suggests classical music may help fetal development
2025-02-06 12:42:59
Bedrie Lokë's death, her husband sentenced to 10 years in prison
2025-02-06 12:20:29
KFOR shows strength, joint exercise of Albanian and Italian soldiers
2025-02-06 12:13:23
Israel instructs military to prepare plans for Palestinian withdrawal from Gaza
2025-02-06 11:57:37


