"The TikTok decision is unnecessary" - Rama: The process has already been resolved
Prime Minister Edi Rama reacted to the decision of the Constitutional Court of Albania regarding the TikTok case, describing it as an unnecessary decision, since according to him, the situation between the government and the company had already been resolved through dialogue. Rama said that after the temporary blocking of the platform, undertaken earlier for reasons related to the protection of children and the requests of parents and teachers, the government entered into a constructive dialogue with the company, which undertook to implement new measures for users in Albania. According to him, the court's decision concluded that the government did not prove that the blocking was the only effective means, but Rama stressed that court decisions should be implemented, although they can be commented on in the framework of public debate.
"This week, the Constitutional Court also made a decision on the TikTok case, while in fact there was no longer a case because as a result of the blocking of TikTok some time ago for reasons that have been made public and at the request of 95% of parents and teachers, we entered into a constructive dialogue with the company and the company took over and began implementing a series of new measures in providing this service to the Albanian audience. However, the Court has continued in its inertia and in the end has concluded that the government did not prove that the blocking was the only effective means. Now the court decisions are of course to be implemented, but I do not think that the court decisions are in all cases not to be commented on because I say that it is good for the prosecution and judges of Albania to face the opinion of always constructive criticism in order to improve their work, since treating them like "don't touch me flowers" even after the processes have ended does not help improve the quality of justice," Rama said.
The Prime Minister added that as a result of the blockade and dialogue with the platform, algorithmic filters, age verification mechanisms, and measures related to violent language and content in the Albanian language have been put in place, emphasizing that these changes were not previously part of the company's practices for the Albanian market.
"And in fact, today we have in our possession, thanks to that blocking of algorithmic filters or age verification, we have a series of measures related to the language of violence, to the Albanian language itself, which was not at all on TikTok's radar until that time, and we really have a constructive cooperation with the platform, so the temporary ban brought exactly all these results. A multi-billion dollar company came to the negotiating table with a small state, which in all its value is below the value of the company and is not the only state. These companies are larger than many states taken together in terms of capital, the value of the capital that they have in their possession," Rama added.
He added that similar measures are being discussed in other countries, emphasizing that issues related to algorithms and the impact of digital platforms on minors have become part of the international debate.
"And here comes the Constitutional Court, like the coffin after the harvest and does not take into account the constitutional obligation that the Constitution of Albania clearly establishes that children have the right to special protection from the state and that they must be protected from any practice that may harm their health and development, and does not even take into account the fact that the blocking of TikTok by our side was not only not opposed or questioned by international institutions, starting with the European Union, but on the contrary was commented positively on a number of media platforms in many, many countries in Europe and beyond, in a period when many countries are trying to take such measures and when the facts show that the algorithms of these platforms can produce harmful effects on children, from anxiety, to self-harming behaviors or to brutal displays of violence that can even lead to the loss or taking of another's life, then the state's inaction is not neutrality and in this context, the so-called freedom of speech, which is so much abused, has absolutely no connection," Rama concluded.
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