The September 2 suspensions removed a key organizing and reporting channel for Albania’s anti-resort movement just as protests against the Kushner-linked development had become a wider challenge to Prime Minister Edi Rama. The available reporting supports a coordinated-looking wave of enforcement, but does not establish that the Albanian government or the developer caused it. 2

• What happened: Dozens of Instagram accounts belonging to activists, journalists and opposition-linked figures were disabled overnight; organisers said the real number could exceed 200. The accounts had documented protests, police encounters and the proposed €1.4 billion Affinity Partners resort on Sazan Island and the Vjosa-Narta coast. 23

• Why censorship is suspected: Affected users reported prior copyright notices and removals involving protest material, followed by simultaneous account losses across politically aligned critics. Digital-rights advocates regard that pattern, and the apparent weakness of some underlying claims, as consistent with abusive or coordinated copyright reporting—using an ordinarily legitimate intellectual-property mechanism to suppress speech. Meta’s policy does permit removal of copyright-infringing material, but that policy alone does not demonstrate that these particular complaints were valid. 215

• Meta’s response and lingering effects: Meta reviewed cases, restored some accounts and directed users to appeal. Yet restorations did not necessarily return accounts to normal operation: some users reported residual limits such as being unable to post, reach followers normally, or use certain account functions—meaning the practical effect on protest communications could continue after reinstatement. The reported partial reversals also strengthen the concern that at least some original actions may have been erroneous, though they are not proof of intentional political censorship. 2

• European political reaction: Sandro Gozi, a Renew Europe MEP and secretary-general of the European Democratic Party, and the party sought clarification from the European Commission and Meta. Their questions included whether the enforcement was compatible with platform obligations and whether Albanian authorities had requested, encouraged or otherwise influenced the removals. 212

• DSA and accession context: Albania is not an EU member, so Albanian users and institutions do not have the same direct DSA enforcement routes and national Digital Services Coordinators available within the EU. That does not make Meta wholly outside EU scrutiny—Meta operates in the EU and is subject to EU platform rules there—but it makes a case centred on Albania harder to pursue as a straightforward domestic DSA complaint. The episode could nevertheless matter politically in Albania’s accession process, where media freedom, freedom of expression and rule-of-law performance are assessed; the Commission has already recorded concerns around Albania’s prior nationwide social-media restriction. 3

• Political backdrop: The demonstrations began as environmental and transparency opposition to the resort but evolved into demands for Rama’s resignation. Rama denied that the state was behind the Instagram actions, while opposition figure Agron Shehaj portrayed the wave of removals as a serious censorship test—especially because social media had become central to documenting the protests and mobilising participants. 12

The central unresolved issue is attribution: there is evidence of a disruptive, concentrated moderation event and questionable copyright complaints, but insufficient public evidence so far to prove state involvement or a deliberate Meta policy to silence the movement.

The September 2 suspensions removed a key organizing and reporting channel for Albania’s anti-resort movement just as protests against the Kushner-linked development had become a wider challenge to Prime Minister Edi Rama. The available reporting supports a coordinated-looking wave of enforcement, but does not establish that the Albanian government or the developer caused it. 2

• What happened: Dozens of Instagram accounts belonging to activists, journalists and opposition-linked figures were disabled overnight; organisers said the real number could exceed 200. The accounts had documented protests, police encounters and the proposed €1.4 billion Affinity Partners resort on Sazan Island and the Vjosa-Narta coast. 23

• Why censorship is suspected: Affected users reported prior copyright notices and removals involving protest material, followed by simultaneous account losses across politically aligned critics. Digital-rights advocates regard that pattern, and the apparent weakness of some underlying claims, as consistent with abusive or coordinated copyright reporting—using an ordinarily legitimate intellectual-property mechanism to suppress speech. Meta’s policy does permit removal of copyright-infringing material, but that policy alone does not demonstrate that these particular complaints were valid. 215

• Meta’s response and lingering effects: Meta reviewed cases, restored some accounts and directed users to appeal. Yet restorations did not necessarily return accounts to normal operation: some users reported residual limits such as being unable to post, reach followers normally, or use certain account functions—meaning the practical effect on protest communications could continue after reinstatement. The reported partial reversals also strengthen the concern that at least some original actions may have been erroneous, though they are not proof of intentional political censorship. 2

• European political reaction: Sandro Gozi, a Renew Europe MEP and secretary-general of the European Democratic Party, and the party sought clarification from the European Commission and Meta. Their questions included whether the enforcement was compatible with platform obligations and whether Albanian authorities had requested, encouraged or otherwise influenced the removals. 212

• DSA and accession context: Albania is not an EU member, so Albanian users and institutions do not have the same direct DSA enforcement routes and national Digital Services Coordinators available within the EU. That does not make Meta wholly outside EU scrutiny—Meta operates in the EU and is subject to EU platform rules there—but it makes a case centred on Albania harder to pursue as a straightforward domestic DSA complaint. The episode could nevertheless matter politically in Albania’s accession process, where media freedom, freedom of expression and rule-of-law performance are assessed; the Commission has already recorded concerns around Albania’s prior nationwide social-media restriction. 3

• Political backdrop: The demonstrations began as environmental and transparency opposition to the resort but evolved into demands for Rama’s resignation. Rama denied that the state was behind the Instagram actions, while opposition figure Agron Shehaj portrayed the wave of removals as a serious censorship test—especially because social media had become central to documenting the protests and mobilising participants. 12

The central unresolved issue is attribution: there is evidence of a disruptive, concentrated moderation event and questionable copyright complaints, but insufficient public evidence so far to prove state involvement or a deliberate Meta policy to silence the movement.