eSafety asks big tech ‘not to show’ US execution
The online safety watchdog has written to tech companies asking them “not to show” the public execution of wheelchair-bound death row inmate Nidal Hasan in the US, Communications Minister Anika Wells says.
Authorities are scrambling to restrict the former army officer’s death by firing squad being broadcast in Australia, with eSafety admitting earlier this week it lacks powers to “proactively prevent” it.
Noting reports that US President Donald Trump may not go ahead with plans to broadcast the killing, Ms Wells said on Thursday that Canberra is “making preparations” regardless.
“The eSafety commissioner has written to all of our tech companies to say we expect them to take steps not to show this on their platforms,” she told the ABC.
“And I met with Meta, the vice-president and global head of safety of Meta yesterday, and made that point directly.
“We will work together with companies like Meta to go everything we can to make sure Australians don’t have to see this.”
US media has reported unease within the Trump administration amid bipartisan outcry.
“Australia has had a bipartisan position of opposition to the death penalty, and I find the idea of livestreaming the death of anybody completely abhorrent,” he said.
“I don’t know why anyone would want themselves to watch such an event, let alone sit back and allow potentially kids and families to get access to this.”
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth originally made the vow to broadcast Hasan’s execution.
Hasan fatally shot 13 unarmed soldiers and injured dozens more at a base in Texas in 2009.
During his 2013 court martial, he said he killed his fellow soldiers to protect Muslims and the Taliban in Afghanistan.
“We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it’s public, because people need to understand that there’s serious consequences for these types of things,” Mr Hegseth said last week.
“There are two thoughts: don’t show it and show it, because you know by showing it, maybe other people won’t be doing what (Hasan) did,” he said.
5News aggregated this summary from the outlet’s public feed. The full article, with all the context, is on www.perthnow.com.au — the content belongs to PerthNow.
