The use of TikTok has already been banned in Kosovo’s state institutions by a government decision, but it continues to be used nationwide.
On June 28, the Government of Kosovo approved a law prohibiting the operation of the social media service TikTok in all state institutions to protect privacy.
This social network, considered dangerous due to privacy violations, must change the age of use for its users, according to the Agency for Information and Privacy.
The agency has requested from TikTok representatives in Europe, with whom they have met, that the social network’s privacy policies be translated into Albanian, which has already been done. They have also requested that the age of use for this social network be raised from 13 to 16 years.
Commissioner Krenare Dermaku stated to KosovaPress that citizens need to be careful to protect their personal data.
“Within our legal authorizations, we have taken actions, contacted TikTok representatives, held several meetings, and still maintain official contact with TikTok’s European representation. We have requested that TikTok’s privacy policies be translated into Albanian, which has been done. Now, anyone who opens TikTok in Kosovo has privacy policies in an understandable language, fulfilling one of the principles of the data protection law, which is transparency to the citizen. We have also requested that the age for use be raised from 13, as it was, to 16 years, as provided by our national law. We, as a society and institutions, need to raise awareness among citizens about where and to whom they are providing their personal data,” advised Dermaku.
Cybersecurity expert Mentor Hoxha noted that not only children but also adults are often exposed to inappropriate content.
“Based on national security concerns, the Government of the Republic of Kosovo has made a decision. Not only children but also adults are exposed to inappropriate content… This concern on TikTok is not just about inappropriate content. On TikTok, we also see illegal activities, which, as emphasized in the past, were previously seen only on the ‘dark web’. On TikTok, there is minimal freedom of speech; instead, we see flagrant violations of existing laws, international laws where illegal activities are being read, and inappropriate content is flourishing,” Hoxha said.
Sociologist Ferdi Kamberi expressed concern in a written response to KosovaPress that many children find themselves exposed to inappropriate sexual content, leading to harmful sexual behaviors among minors and affecting their emotional and social development.
“TikTok is one of the social networks that significantly impacts individual privacy, even though the appropriate age for social networks is 13 years, many young people often bypass this. Other impacts include the hypersexualization of children, where many children find themselves exposed to inappropriate sexual content on this platform, which can lead to sexual behavior among minors and damage their emotional and social development. Other impacts are seen in the increased tendency of pedophiles, bullying, privacy breaches, addiction to TikTok, and the tendency to be the center of attention,” Kamberi said.
Concerns that the Chinese government may have access to sensitive user data on TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, prompted the U.S. government to pass legislation banning the social media platform if it is not sold within a year.
Lawmakers and regulators in the West have increasingly expressed concern that TikTok and its parent company ByteDance may place sensitive user data, such as location information, into the hands of the Chinese government.
India banned TikTok in 2020 after official New Delhi cracked down on hundreds of Chinese-owned apps, partly claiming they secretly transmitted user data to foreign servers.
The UK and its Parliament, Australia, Canada, the executive arm of the EU, France, and the New Zealand Parliament have banned the app from official devices, citing it as a national security threat.
