Prime Minister Edi Rama has announced that the government will begin consultations with parents and teachers on restricting minors’ access to social media. Authorities are considering whether the age limit should be set at 16 or 18, with the aim of preventing children from having individual accounts on these platforms.
Speaking at a meeting of the National Council for Children’s Rights and Protection, Rama also announced that, starting next year, children will remain at school until 5:00 p.m.
“We need to open a debate on how and when we should restrict minors’ access to social media, and up to what age, 16 or 18, so that they no longer have any possibility of having their own individual social media accounts. We will launch a consultation process, as we did when we had to restrict TikTok. We will begin discussions with teachers, parents, and all schools on limiting social media access for minors.
“Another very important issue is the work that needs to be done jointly between us and civil society organizations involved in this area to expand the range of social activities available to minors, from sports to culture.
“Extending the time children spend at school is something that will begin immediately next year. We have allocated a special budget so that parents can continue working while their children remain on school premises until 5:00 p.m.,” Rama stated.
Addressing developments in recent weeks, the Prime Minister said the Council has taken on particular importance as a forum where different perspectives can contribute to developing a common approach.
He said society has witnessed a disturbing situation in which violence has been downplayed, justified, and even glorified.
According to Rama, violence has also been accompanied by misinformation and miseducation, turning the State Police into a target of stigmatization, while those who have committed acts of violence against institutions and schools have, in his view, been granted a status of civic legitimacy and immunity from media scrutiny.
The head of government warned that if society limits its response to merely exposing and criticizing such incidents, violence could emerge in other forms and be directed against teachers, school authorities, university lecturers, universities, or anyone perceived as an obstacle to the exercise of rights.
Another concern he raised was the participation of a significant number of minors in protests. Rama said that rather than being regarded as offenders, they should first be seen as children in need of help.
According to him, the sources that encourage and attract minors toward violence must be identified and neutralized.
Rama also emphasized the need to support families, citing measures such as subsidizing health insurance for unemployed mothers who are raising children and are heads of households, transforming the baby bonus into a regular monthly child support scheme, and more than doubling financial assistance for students from disadvantaged families.
The Prime Minister stressed that these measures are not sufficient and that the situation requires a new approach to everything that promotes in-person social interaction.
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