“They attack us through social media,” Rama says: “I’m no advocate of shutting them down”

During the gala evening organized by the Albanian-American Relations Council in New York, Prime Minister Edi Rama said society is facing a digital “barbarism”, as cyberattacks and content on social networks directly affect young people.

Despite his criticism of the platforms’ negative impact, Rama clarified that he is not seeking or proposing the closure of social media, although, in his view, the protection of children remains a major concern.

“They attack us by messing with the brains of our young people every hour through mobile phones, through social media. I know, God bless the First Amendment, but if the First Amendment is meant to allow every kind of garbage and filth — sorry — we are no longer living in the civilization in which the best education, the best behavior, the best way of communication between people developed. We are living barbarism. We can do the same thing to our enemies, because they have protected themselves, they have put protections in place for their people. We cannot go and mess with the minds of Chinese children because they are protected — and I am not becoming an advocate, I am not saying that I am an advocate for shutting down social media,” Rama said.