Calls on federal government to block US execution live stream in Australia

The Greens want the federal government to make sure the live streaming of a firing squad execution in the United States is not shown in Australia.

Last week, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he would make sure the public could watch the December 3 execution of Nidal Malik Hasan — which would be the first US execution by a military firing squad since World War II.

Hasan was convicted of killing 13 people and injuring dozens more in a shooting at the Fort Hood military base in 2009.

Greens communications spokesperson Sarah Hanson-Young has written to both the eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant and Communications Minister Anika Wells asking them to confirm they will "take whatever action is necessary" to make sure it is not broadcast or accessible online in Australia.

"This is incredibly shocking and barbaric … Australians don't want this on our screens," she told the ABC.

"The Government must be pre-emptive and warn streaming and social media platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Meta, that very large fines will apply if this state murder is broadcast or replayed at a later date," she wrote in the letter.

"Inaction on this will jeopardise millions of Australians' online safety and expose both adults and children to this harmful content."

The ABC has contacted the eSafety commissioner and Ms Wells's office for comment.

A spokesperson for the communications department said "broadcasters must comply with rules about reporting on violent or distressing content [and] it would be expected they exercise strong editorial control over their coverage and act responsibly in reporting on this matter".

Vice president casts doubt over live stream

Over the weekend, US Vice President JD Vance cast doubt about whether the execution would actually be live streamed, but said if it was, he would not watch it.

Other countries are also grappling with how to respond to the execution potentially being beamed around the world.

The New Zealand and Dutch governments are among those pointing to the difficulties in restricting a live internet broadcast, while Denmark, France and Spain are all examining what they could do.

The plan to live stream the shooting has been heavily criticised by human rights groups, including Amnesty International Australia, which says Prime Minister Anthony Albanese should press the US to reverse its plan.

"The suggestion that an execution by firing squad should be live streamed for public viewing is an appalling disregard for human dignity," the organisation's Kyinzom Dhongdue told Reuters.

"Turning a state-sanctioned killing into a public spectacle only compounds the cruelty of the death penalty."

eSafety commissioner previously attempted to pull violent content

While the eSafety commissioner has previously launched legal action to attempt to get social media sites to remove violent content, the US execution is different because there is advanced notice and it involves a close ally in the US government.

This year, the watchdog launched Federal Court action against messaging platform Telegram, accusing it of neglecting its legal obligations by not removing content, including of the Christchurch mosque massacre and a shooting at a supermarket in the US.

In 2024, the eSafety commissioner also unsuccessfully sought to have X remove graphic footage of the stabbing of a bishop in a Sydney church.

At the time, X argued the case "raised important questions" about how legal powers can be used to "threaten global censorship of speech".