December 2024: Albanian government announces the TikTok ban for one year.
The decision comes after the killing of 14-year-old Martin Cani, following a argued – with his contemporary executioner – which took place right on the Chinese platform. From several web sources, including the Channel 4 video seen above, TikTok would have responded to the ban immediately highlighting that:
"There is no evidence that the two boys had TikTok".
- they would have discussed on another platform. The platform thus asks for clarifications from the Albanian government, without specifying anything else. On the other hand Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama remains firm on the ban:
"The problem today is not our children. The problem is us. The problem is our society and what it is becoming. The problem today is TikTok and all the other tools that are holding our children hostage” (source La Repubblica).
The older generations largely approve of the ban: TikTok is bad, is useless and has a negative influence on young people. The younger generations they answer that TikTok is also entertainment and dissemination, which moves the culture and that also gives some economic opportunities.
Then, banning it would be censorship.
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Government Stands Firm on TikTok Ban: Can It Do It?
Despite the controversy, the Albanian government has confirmed the blocking of the platform for a year. So today TikTok cannot be used in Albania, and will remain so until 2026: but is this decision legally founded?
From a legal point of view, Albanian government has the power to restrict access to digital platforms for public safety reasons.
However, the Constitution of Albania and international norms on freedom of expression could conflict with this decision. So in the country it would not only be the young people who call for censorship, but obviously also the political opposition e digital rights organizations including SCiDEV, which is based in Tirana.
At European level – however – the regulation of digital platforms is governed by the Digital Services Act, which requires tech companies to take steps to counter misinformation and dangerous content. If Albania then entered the European Union, ban TikTok could be subject to revisions, with different outcomes: on the one hand, the ban could be unfounded; on the other, TikTok could be reintroduced into the country provided it complies by adopting more incisive practices to protect young people. In this gray area, TikTok could virtually take legal action to challenge the ban, as happened in the past in other countries where the platform was temporarily banned.
But this time TikTok is investing more than two billion to ensure the safety of its 175 million monthly European users (source La Repubblica).
Other governments follow Albania's line: why?
The blocking of TikTok in Albania is not an isolated case.
India banned TikTok in 2020 along with dozens of other Chinese apps, citing national security risks. In the United States, some states have imposed restrictions on the use of the platform in government devices, and a possible total ban has long been discussed. Even the European Union has taken action: in February 2023, European Commission and Council of the EU have banned the use of TikTok on official devices, citing cybersecurity concerns. Management, followed by France, Belgium, Netherlands and Norway.
Nepal too, in November 2023, announced a total ban, justifying it with the need to preserve social harmony.
And these are just some of the host of Western countries – and not only – that have imposed blocks over time… or which plan to apply them.
The consequences of TikTok's ban on digital marketing
The decision of the Albanian government shows that governments can intervene drastically on the regulation of social platforms, creating uncertainty for businesses, creators and Advertising that depend on these tools. Among them could be you, who is reading this.
Staying informed about these developments keeps us grounded.
Another effect is the possible Domino effect in Europe. If other countries follow the Albanian example, TikTok could face more restrictions, and even more severe ones, forcing those who deal with digital marketing to pay more attention to how he moves.
Think about it: how easy it was for some companies to sell themselves with a strong base on TikTok, where virality is more likely? If one path works why invest time and energy in others? Why set up Instagram, Facebook or work on the SEO of a website, when is it enough to publish 1 or 2 videos a day to have conversions? Bubbles inflate and deflate… sometimes they come back, but that's not always the case.
You have to diversify to adapt
Why TikTok might be unstable since It is in the lenses of many states. It falls within the current framework of technological guerrilla warfare where big tech companies look at each other with suspicion. In this case we are talking about Chinese companies and their products in the crosshairs. Look what happened with DeepSeek. We need to diversifyWe need to create a network of actions, as is done with the articles when working on SEO: with just the article you don't appear on the first page of Google, but you have to do link building – creating contacts and exchanges with other sites – having the accessible site, performing, fast, it must be responsive – so it has to adapt to every device – and so on… in short, on social media you have to work with the same philosophy: diversify.
So – yes – TikTok bans have consequences on digital marketing, but limitedly how much companies and creators rely on the platform.
At bottom, Social media is constantly evolving…and the TikTok format is replicable!
