Joyce urges separate bill to block US execution livestream

Former Australian deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce has urged the government to legislate separately to block a proposed livestream of a US execution, rather than conflating the issue with broader social media regulation. Joyce, who now represents the One Nation Party, expressed concern that such violent content could be accessible to Australians, particularly children.

The planned execution of former US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan, who killed 13 people and wounded dozens more in a 2009 shooting at Fort Hood, is scheduled for December 3. The US Department of Defense announced that the execution would be broadcast live, marking the first military firing squad execution since World War Two and the first ever to be broadcast live in the US.

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young has pleaded for Australia to block the livestream, writing to the eSafety commissioner and communications minister to take action. She described the plan as "shocking and barbaric" and "unconscionable, abhorrent act" that would expose people, including children, to traumatic content.

Opposition treasury spokesperson Tim Wilson stated that while he found the prospect "enormously problematic," he was concerned that blocking the livestream could amount to censorship and infringe on free speech. He questioned how content could be blocked without creating an "online portal of censorship."

A government spokesperson indicated that Australia has a "longstanding bipartisan position" opposing the death penalty and that a livestreamed execution would be "deeply distressing to many Australians." The spokesperson added that platforms have a responsibility to ensure such content does not appear on screens.

Communications Minister Anika Wells is preparing to introduce a digital duty of care bill that would hold tech companies responsible for actively preventing serious harm on their sites, potentially increasing their liability for violent content.