Online hate speech and bulling among the most reported incidents for children and adolescents in Albania





Tirana, 10 February 2022 – The National Hotline for Safer Internet for Children in Albania, made public the data of the incidents that children and young people have reported during 2022 to the hotline. The data are published in the 4th National Report on Internet Safety in Albania, an annual publication of the National Internet Safety Centre that is published every February and is linked with the International Safer Internet Day.

The findings of the report were presented this morning in the 8th Annual Forum for Safer Internet in Albania, with the participation of authorities, teachers, CSO’s representatives and media.

“Albania has a long way to go to provide security and safety to every child and young person who gets online. From the data that we have collected from iSIGURT for the last seven years, we believe that online world is becoming more dangerous and exploitative for children. Its urgent that we start developing new laws and policies, to address all these shortcomings, together with the industry.” – said Altin Hazizaj, on behalf of CRCA/ECPAT Albania.

Among the major findings of the Report this year are:

  • A significant increase in hate speech and online bullying towards children and young people was observed based on all the cases reported during 2022.
  • On average, every two days a child or young adult reports online incidents in Albania.
  • There is almost an equal division of reports made to the Hotline from boys and girls compared to previous years. This year, 47% of reports are from boys compared to 43% of reports from girls.
  • The reports to the Hotline are mostly most made from the age-group 18 to 30 years old followed by the 15-17 age group.
  • TikTok is the most reported platform where children and young people have encountered online incidents, followed by Instagram and Facebook.

The increase in the number of Internet users in the country, to almost 80 percent of the population, has made online access into one of the most important mediums for people to communicate, learn and exchange information. But on the other hand, the Internet carries a number of risks for children, especially in terms of protecting them from violence, sexual exploitation and abuse, bullying or online hate speech.

iSIGURT.al – National Platform for Safer Internet in Albania, a national service established by CRCA/ECPAT Albania in 2015, has as its main mission the reporting and removal of online materials, in social networks and online media, that contain sexual violence against children and adolescents, bullying and extreme violence, as well as hate speech and crimes. Part of the Platform is the National Helpline for Child Internet Safety, which aims to immediately report and remove all incidents of CSAM, extreme violence, bullying, etc., that children and young people encounter while using the Internet.


Detajet e Lajmit
February 10, 2023
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