Australia will do ‘anything we can’ to stop U.S. execution being shown online: PM Albanese
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has vowed to prevent the livestreaming of a U.S. prisoner's execution from being accessible within Australia. The government is exploring options to block the content, citing social responsibility and the abhorrent nature of the planned broadcast.
Why it matters
The case raises significant ethical questions regarding the intersection of global digital content distribution and national sovereignty over media standards.
Australia will do whatever it can to stop the "completely abhorrent" livestreaming of the execution of a U.S. prisoner from being available to view in the country, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday (October 13, 2026).
Nidal Hasan's execution — scheduled for December 3 at Fort Hood, Texas, where he gunned down 13 people in 2009 — is set to be the first by a US military firing squad since 1945.
A Pentagon official told AFP last week the execution would be streamed live, after U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said "we'll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it's public."
Mr. Albanese told national broadcaster ABC he had a "social responsibility" to stop it being shown.
Also covering this story
3 other newsrooms covered this event. We read each version separately.
Greens call on federal government to block US execution live stream in Australia
Australian Greens call for ‘barbaric’ US execution live stream to be blocked
Nidal Hasan execution: Call for Australia to protest
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