FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
The suicide of a 41-year-old woman at the beginning of January in the village of Vadardhë in Sukthi in the Municipality of Durrës initially raised suspicions that it was prompted by a story of bullying on the TikTok platform, which the victim had reported without finding a solution to the police.
But the investigation took a different course four days later, when the Durrës police arrested the husband of the mother of four children on the charge of continuous psychological violence and threats against her.
Physical and psychological violence against girls and women is an early and untreated wound of Albanian society, which in recent years has been combined with new forms of harassment, denigration or bullying through social networks.
However, senior officials of the ruling Socialist Party diverted the public debate following the 41-year-old's suicide from bullying on social media platforms to an old enemy of theirs - the online media.
In a reaction on Facebook after the event, the Speaker of the Assembly, Lindita Nikolla, warned of the tightening of legislation for online media.
"The assembly will immediately reconsider, with priority, the tightening of the legislation for online media and the Criminal Code, especially the provisions related to cybercrime, attacks, insults and aggressiveness in social networks," Nikolla wrote.
Other officials such as the Minister of State for Parliamentary Relations, Elisa Spiropali and the Minister of Justice, Ulsi Manja also repeated the same message, warning of the review of the legislation for online media.
Prime Minister Edi Rama's government attempted to regulate online media through a legal campaign known as the "anti-defamation" package at the end of 2019, but was forced to withdraw the initiative from parliament due to opposition from international organizations and a scathing opinion from the Commission on Venice.
Rama's "anti-defamation" package was also opposed as a draconian initiative by local and international freedom of expression organizations, which considered it an attempt to control online media.
The reactivation of the debate, still without properly investigating the causes that led to the self-sacrifice of the 41-year-old in Durres, shows, according to media experts, a political interest, which does not aim to solve the problems of violence and bullying, but to expand control over online media.
"The comments of some politicians show deep ignorance of the subject they are commenting on and the need to reduce any social or political problem to online media censorship, not to mention the rush to speak before the outcome of the investigations," said Koloreto Cukali, chairman of the Media Council.
Edhe Elvin Luku, pedagog dhe drejtues i qendrës MediaLook, thotë se projektligji për mediat online është “një ëndërr e vjetër” e politikës, që vazhdon të mbahet në sirtar./ BIRN
“Politika nëpërmjet tij synon të kapë apo të ushtrojë presion edhe tek ajo hapësirë e medias online e cila është kritike, hulumton apo investigon,” tha Luku për BIRN.
Ligjet nuk zbatohen
Përvoja e hidhur e 41-vjeçares nga Durrësi me keqpërdorimin e identitetit të saj në platformën TikTok, ku ajo u fye dhe u denigrua, nuk ishte një histori e panjohur për institucionet ligjzbatuese.
Sipas një njoftimi të Policisë së Durrësit, gruaja i ishte drejtuar policisë me kallëzim në dhjetor të vitit 2022 për hapjen e një profili të rremë në emrin e saj në TikTok, ku persona ende të panjohur shpërndanin sharje dhe fyerje në emër të saj.
Pas vdekjes së 41-vjeçares, policia e Durrësit deklaroi se ngjarja ishte ende në hetim.
“Për kallëzimin e bërë në dhjetor 2022, Policia ka kryer të gjitha veprimet dhe i ka referuar materialet në Prokurori. Nuk ka patur asnjë kallëzim apo shqetësim nga shtetësja B.L pas këtij kallëzimi,” deklaroi policia.
Juristja Megi Reçi, njëherazi kërkuese pranë Institutit për Demokraci dhe Ndërmjetësim, thotë se debati publik pas ngjarjes u instrumentalizua politikisht. Reçi theksoi gjithashtu se para se të flitet për ndryshime ligjore, do të duhet të analizohet se pse nuk kanë funksionuar mekanizmat në fuqi.
“Përgjigja ndaj ngjarjeve serioze si kjo, që ekspozojnë probleme sistemike, duhet të jetë llogaridhënia institucionale, informimi, analiza dhe debati teknik mbi zgjidhjet,” tha Reçi.
“U përmendën ndryshime në legjislacion për median online dhe jo për platformat e mëdha sociale, që në fakt lidhen me rastin,” shtoi ajo.
Legjislacioni shqiptar parashikon aktualisht penalitete civile dhe penale për shpifjen si dhe për krimet që ndodhin në hapësirën digjitale, të cilat sipas Reçit do të duhej të ishin vënë në lëvizje pas denoncimit të rastit nga 41-vjeçarja.
“U tha në mënyrë impulsive që duhej ashpërsuar legjislacioni penal, pa thënë pse nuk zbatohet ai që është aty,” shtoi ajo.
Edhe ekspertja e medias, Valbona Sulçe mendon se arsyet e vërteta duhet të kërkohen te moszbatimi i ligjit aktual.
“Në vend të ashpërsimit të legjislacionit, mendoj se do ishtë mirë të shihej zbatimi i ligjit aktual, apo pse nuk funksionoi hetimi i policisë për profilin e rremë, ku ka çaluar mekanizmi, si edhe të nxirren përgjegjësitë,” tha Sulçe.
“Bullizmi online rezulton se ishte vetëm një aspekt i shqetësimit të viktimës, dhe sipas psikologëve nuk mund të cilësohet si përgjegjësi i vetëm për vendimin e vetëvrasjes,” shtoi ajo, duke i cilësuar të nxituara reagimet pas ngjarjes.
Mungesa e kapaciteteve
Beyond the political deviation of the debate that followed the death of the 41-year-old in Durrës, online bullying is, according to experts, a worrying problem that needs to be addressed. They also believe that this phenomenon can be limited through strengthening the capacities of law enforcement institutions in the fight against cybercrime.
Koloreto Cukali from the Media Council says that while bullying on social media is not a new phenomenon, he notes a lack of real political interest in dealing with it.
"Online bullying is the digital transfer of bullying in everyday life, where politics sets a very bad personal example," Cukali said.
He also emphasizes that Albania lacks a serious structure that fights cybercrime, while he estimates that the Albanian government should ask platforms such as Facebook, Instagram or TikTok to moderate "violence in the Albanian digital space".
"Bullying in the digital sphere is not fought with laws, but with structures. We have no serious structure against cybercrime, no police training, no knowledge and no will to solve it," said Cukali.
Journalist Luku also emphasizes that the country already needs strong law enforcement structures in tracking aggressors on online platforms, which according to him would not only minimize violence, but also prevent crimes that are exposed from the real world.
"If the authorities are invested and specialized in tracking the self-exposure of the authors on the TikTok network, we would have the destruction of some lines of illegal immigration, especially towards Britain, a tougher fight against 'houses of prostitution' or the circulation of drugs among children high school students," says Luku.
Lawyer Reçi suggests that Albania should follow the path of the European Union - where there are already discussions and regulations aimed at increasing the responsibility of social networking platforms.
"No legal act can undertake to solve every online problem, however these acts imposed obligations on large platforms and increased their responsibility", says Reçi.
In the same line is Sulçe, who calls that in addition to strengthening investigative capacities, Albania also needs media education of the population, which according to her would bring real changes in the protection of citizens' rights in the digital space.
"These are global issues now, but without a good coordination of all the factors of society - citizens, the state, schools, journalists and parents, the battle cannot be won," concluded Sulçe.
Lini një Përgjigje