Government says ban on use of popular social media platform in state institutions reflects security risks and follows the example set by many other countries.

The Kosovo government on June 28 banned use of the social media network TikTok in state institutions amid growing global concerns over its potential vulnerability to cyber threats.

Bardhyl Dobra, Deputy Minister for Internal Affairs, said that the decision “aims to protect the state institutions of Kosovo against cyber threats, and actions which could be exploited for cyber attacks against the information and communication technology infrastructure of Kosovo’s institutions”.

Under the decision, all public institutions that own and manage state communication networks must “implement necessary technical restrictions to prohibit the operation of TikTok services in official work environments”. 

Public officials are required to remove the Tik Tok application and its installation files from their official devices.

The government said the ban on the use of TikTok in state institutions follows the example set by allied countries. Currently, this app has also been banned by European Union institutions and by those in Australia, Estonia, the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Belgium, Denmark, the US, Canada, Taiwan, India, and Afghanistan.

However, Kosovo is the first country in the region to ban the use of TikTok in public institutions.

In mid-April 2024, the Ministry of Interior sent an email with inaccurate information to 7,000 public officials as a test. The results, showing that some officials believed the email, showed how easily they could fall prey to simple cyber fraud.