The Constitutional Court decided today not to issue a final ruling on the issue of the ban on the social media platform Tik-Tok. It granted additional time to the parties involved, considering that there were still questions to be exhausted.
Thus, the court set a deadline of February 12 for submitting additional comments and explanations, while the session for final conclusions was scheduled for February 23, at 10:00.
The decision is expected to determine not only the fate of the act that temporarily banned TikTok, but also the constitutional standard on the restriction of digital platforms by the executive branch.
The withdrawal of the government and the continuation of the process in the Constitutional Court
The hearing to review the ban on the use of the social platform TikTok by the Albanian government was held on Thursday morning at the Constitutional Court, but was preceded by an unexpected political development.
Two days before the session, the government approved Decision No. 62, which repealed the act of a year ago that banned access to TikTok.
According to the decision dated February 3, the National Cyber Security Authority (AKSK), in cooperation with regulatory entities, must take action to lift the restrictive measures, while respecting the legislation on the protection of personal data.
The lawsuit at the Constitutional Court against the government's decision was filed by the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network in Albania (BIRN Albania) and the Association of Journalists of Albania (AGSH), in defense of freedom of the media and expression.
Government representatives argued at the Constitutional Court session that reviewing the issue is unnecessary, as the decision banning TikTok has already been repealed.
"The decision loses its effect within 12 months," said Herold Jonuzaj as a government representative, while adding that he "would be automatically repealed by March 6, 2026.” According to him, the repeal was part of a negotiation process with the platform to implement the required filters.
The plaintiff's lawyer, Franc Terihati, insisted that the case should be considered regardless of the government's decision to lift the ban on the platform. He stressed that the normative act that banned Tik-Tok violated several constitutional rights, including freedom of expression, the press, the right to information, and economic freedom.
For this reason, Terihati considered "matter of major public interest" Therefore, the court must state whether or not the decision was constitutional during the time it was in force.
AGSH representatives also raised concerns about the risk of a precedent being created. They also considered the repeal of the act only 48 hours before the court hearing problematic.
"What happens if the matter is dismissed and the day after tomorrow the Council of Ministers reconvenes to make another new similar act?" Isa Myzyraj from AGSH expressed this, emphasizing that the Constitutional Court was required to establish a standard for such cases for future governments as well.
The Constitutional Court panel asked what the consequences of the closure of the platform had been, a question to which representatives of the organizations responded by emphasizing that the consequences had been concrete, especially during the pre-election period.
BIRN Albania's Executive Director, Kristina Voko, referred to the OSCE-ODIHR final report, which found that the platform's restriction violated the right of candidates to inform and citizens to receive information.
Voko also mentioned the existing agreement between the Audiovisual Media Authority (AMA) and TikTok, which had served as a functional mechanism for addressing citizen complaints.
"AMA in its annual report and in the resolution addressed to parliament says that it has been a very good practice," Voko said.
The initial decision to shut down TikTok was opposed by over 20 media and civil society organizations, who described it as an extreme restriction of freedom of expression.
In March 2025, COMPLAINTS for declaring the decision unconstitutional was accepted for review by the Constitutional Court, although the request for suspension was not approved.
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Erisa Kryeziu has completed higher studies in Journalism and Communication and Master of Science in Public Relations at the University of Tirana. She has been a journalist and project manager at Citizens.al for five years, where she reports on social issues and human rights, especially on issues of rights at work, in education, gender equality, marginalized groups, people with disabilities such as and for environmental issues. At the same time, she works as a project coordinator with a focus on youth and media education. User of new reporting techniques such as "Mobile Journalism" and citizen engagement tools in reporting (ECR-Engage Citizens Journalism).
