Australia moves to block US execution livestream

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated his government will do whatever possible to stop the "abhorrent" livestream of a US prisoner's execution. Environment Minister Murray Watt described the plan to broadcast the execution of Nidal Hasan as "disgusting" and "distressing." Hasan, who killed 13 people in 2009, is scheduled to be executed by military firing squad on Dec 3 at Fort Hood, Texas. The event would be the first US execution by military firing squad since 1945.

The plans, following comments from US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth regarding making the execution public, have drawn international condemnation. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights stated that livestreaming an execution is tantamount to a public execution and would breach the prohibition of torture. Within Australia, The Greens have called on the government to block the stream, arguing the "barbaric" content could cause harm to both adults and children.

The eSafety Commissioner’s office stated it cannot proactively prevent a livestream from occurring online, though it noted online services are responsible for protecting users from harmful material. However, The Conversation AU reports that under the Online Safety Act, the government possesses the legal power to block content that depicts "abhorrent violent conduct."

Brief written by urgent.news from Punch, The Conversation AU, Free Malaysia Today — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.