Albanese calls a livestreamed US execution “abhorrent” as eSafety says it cannot block it in advance
ABC, the Daily Telegraph, the Guardian and The Conversation reported that the federal government is trying to find a way to stop Australians seeing a Pentagon livestream of the execution of Nidal Hasan, the former Army major convicted of the 2009 Fort Hood killings. ABC said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said he will make sure the public can watch the execution, set for 3 December, and the Conversation described the method as a firing squad. Anthony Albanese called the plan “abhorrent” and said all options are being explored. ABC reported that the eSafety Commissioner’s office does not have the power to block a livestream before it happens, but that platforms must protect users from harmful material. The Greens called it “barbaric” and asked the government to block it. The Irish Star claimed Donald Trump had slowed the plan; we could not confirm that (see Unverified).
It tests how far an Australian regulator can reach into a stream that originates in another country and is run by an ally’s military. It also raises the question of what duty platforms have, at home, to keep graphic state violence away from children and from people who do not want to see it.
If the stream goes ahead, expect platforms to carry warnings or limits rather than a blanket block. Parents who want their children not to see it should look at platform controls, not wait for a government block that may not be possible.
A state killing broadcast as spectacle is harmful in itself and in what it normalises; Australia should use whatever legal tools exist, even if it irritates Washington.
Governments should be wary of blocking foreign official broadcasts; the answer is platform duty and personal choice, not a precedent for censoring what other countries do.
The legal question is narrower than the political one. eSafety says it cannot block in advance; the open question is what it and the platforms can do once footage exists. Watch whether Trump or the Pentagon changes the plan, because that could end the argument before Canberra has to act, and whether the government names the tool it intends to use rather than saying it is exploring options.
DailyDrop Australia edition No. 10 · Morning · WED., OCT. 14, 2026