Prime Minister Edi Rama, in his first public appearance after the shocking event where the 14-year-old MC was killed, chose to talk about closing the social networks TikTok and SnapChat.
The tragic event happened on Monday in the alley in front of the 9-year-old "Fan Noli" school, where a knife attack between two minors caused a victim, as the author of the attack was arrested by the police after the incident.
For the head of the government, "Snapchat" and "TikTok" are to blame, as these platforms challenge the efforts of families for education. But there is still no evidence that the event was caused as a result of a dispute between minors on this social network. Rama added, in what seemed like a personal judgment, unsupported by any inherent data, that the placement of filters on these platforms has not worked in the countries of the European Union, so his finding in this situation, is the proposal of the final closure of these platforms.
The Prime Minister did not waste a minute talking about structural problems, the responsibility of institutions, school security officers and education and security programs in educational institutions.
A report by "Civic Center" shows that the government failed in the School Safety Package, introduced in September 2023 by the then Minister of the Interior, Taulant Balla.
Balla and the Minister of Education, Evis Kushi, promised in 2023 a tightening of the measures around the perimeter of the school, with the aim of security.
"The local structures of the State Police, in cooperation with the Municipalities, will identify and define the security perimeter of each school, according to the assessment of the situation on the ground, but in any case not less than 50 meters around the boundary fence of each school", Balla said in 2023.
The main point of this package is "criminality prevention" and "use of narcotic substances".
The project envisaged 150 officers in all high schools of the country. The Civic Attitude through a report highlighted that these promises were not kept. Most of the schools until the spring of 2024, did not have a security officer, the psychologist and the social worker were also absent.
Starting from the serious event, a group of activists supported by the parents of the students announced a protest the next day at 11:00, near the Fan Noli school in Tirana.
"The statement causes reactions"
The statement of Prime Minister Edi Rama evoked the reaction of communication experts, who have expressed themselves against the proposal and described it as authoritarianism or a populist approach.
Journalism lecturer Ervin Goci, through a reaction on the Facebook social network, described the prime minister's reaction as an increase in authoritarianism.
"When I listened now to the language and the way in which he tries to justify the closure of social networks, I was reminded of capital punishments in the squares with burnings 4 centuries ago and Putin's propaganda with meetings with parents to justify the unjustifiableGoci said through his post.
Elvin Luku, also a lecturer in the Department of Journalism, said that "ehit is to be welcomed that there is a concern about the influence of social networks" but emphasized that this concern must be addressed and requires an analysis.
He listed several points, saying that the parents' decision must be taken, but "no network should be closed but platforms should be integrated into school curricula".
"The young generation does not need censorship but education, so that they know how to use the networks in a creative and useful way", Luke said.
He also asked the government where the researches he mentioned are, on the impact of these platforms and who did these studies.
"Thirdly, TikTok, Instagram, Snap or Threads should not only be shut down but should become the best allies of law enforcement agencies.", further recommended Luku.
Recently, he said that this issue should not be treated with a populist approach, referring to the prime minister's rhetoric.
Academician Artan Fuga also reacted to the government's proposal, demanding to know who made the reports, which show that TikTok has increased violence among residents.
He completed master's studies in Investigative Journalism at the Department of Journalism at the University of Tirana. She has been working as a journalist for five years, where she previously covered issues of politics and parliamentary activity, in print and online media. She is currently a journalist at Citizens.al, where she covers various social issues related to the transparency of institutions. At Citizens.al, she leads the podcast "The Unheard" and is engaged as a manager of projects related to the support of investigative journalism.
