Albania’s prime minister has announced that the government plans to block access to TikTok for a year after the murder of a student last month sparked fears about the influence of social media on children.

Speaking on Saturday, Edi Rama explained that the proposed ban would begin in January.

TikTok said it was awaiting urgent clarifications from the Albanian government on the proposed ban.

The social media platform told the BBC it found no evidence that the person who allegedly stabbed the 14-year-old boy or the victim himself had TikTok accounts.

During a meeting with teachers, parents and psychologists in the Albanian capital Tirana, Rama branded TikTok “the neighborhood bully.”

“We will close it for a year and start introducing programs that will educate students and help parents follow their children’s journey,” Rama said.

The TikTok ban comes less than a month after the 14-year-old student was killed and another injured in a brawl near a school in southern Tirana that originated in a confrontation on social media.

The murder sparked a debate among parents, psychologists and educational institutions in Albania about the impact of social networks on young people.

“In China, TikTok promotes how students can take courses on how to protect nature and preserve traditions, but on TikTok outside China we only see scum and sludge. Why do we need this?” Rama said.

TikTok is already banned in India, which was one of the app’s largest markets before it was banned in June 2020. It is also blocked in Iran, Nepal, Afghanistan and Somalia.

TikTok is also fighting a law passed by the US Congress that would ban the app from January 19 unless it is sold by ByteDance – its Chinese parent company.

TThe US Supreme Court has agreed to hear TikTok’s last-minute legal arguments Why it shouldn’t be banned or sold, the hearing is scheduled for January 10th – just days before Congress’s January 19th deadline.

The US government is taking action against the app because of alleged ties to the Chinese state – ties that TikTok and ByteDance have denied.

Several European countries, including France, Germany and Belgium, have introduced restrictions on social media use for children.

In November Australia has imposed the strictest measures in the world by voting to ban children under 16 from using social media.

This particular ban will take at least a year to implement.

British Minister for Technology Peter Kyle told the BBC that there was a similar ban for under-16s is “on the table”, but added that he wanted to see further evidence first.