Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said the ban on the social network TikTok announced by his government was "not a hasty reaction to one incident".
Rama said on Saturday that the government would shut down TikTok for a year, accusing the popular video service of inciting violence and bullying, especially among children.
Authorities have held 1.300 meetings with teachers and parents since the November incident in which one teenager stabbed another to death after an argument that started on social media. 95 percent of them support the ban on TikTok, AP reported.
"Banning TikTok for one year in Albania is not a hasty reaction to a single incident, but a carefully considered decision made in consultation with parent communities in schools across the country," said Rama.
Following Tirana's decision, TikTok requested "urgent clarification from the Albanian government" in the case of the stabbed teenager.
The company said it "found no evidence that the perpetrator or victim had TikTok accounts, and multiple reports have in fact confirmed that the videos that led to this incident were posted on a platform other than TikTok."
"The claim that the teenager's murder had nothing to do with TikTok because the conflict did not originate on the platform shows a failure to understand the seriousness of the threat that TikTok poses to children and youth today, as well as the reason for our decision to address this threat," Rama said.
"Albania is perhaps too small to demand that TikTok protect children and youth from the terrifying pitfalls of its algorithm," Rama said, accusing TikTok of "reproducing an endless hell of hateful language, violence, bullying and the like."
Albanian parents are increasingly worried after reports of children bringing knives and other objects to school to use in fights or bullying cases, fueled by stories they see on TikTok
Albanian children make up the largest group of TikTok users in the country, according to local researchers.
AP writes that many young people in Albania do not approve of this ban.
"We discover our daily life and have fun, that is, we use it in our free time," said Samuel Sulmani, an 18-year-old from the town of Rešen.
"We do not agree with that because it is a denial for us," he added.
However, as the AP points out, Albanian parents are increasingly concerned after reports of children bringing knives and other objects to school to use in fights or cases of bullying, fueled by stories they see on TikTok.
"Our decision could not be clearer: either TikTok will protect Albania's children, or Albania will protect its children from TikTok," Rama said.
Bonus video:
