Social media platforms have spent years restricting graphic violence. Now the Asset The administration’s plan to livestream a public execution could test the extent to which it is willing to enforce those rules.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and the Pentagon said it would live stream firing squad execution of army major. Nidal Malik Hasan on December 3. It would be the first time a U.S. death sentence has been streamed online, and the companies have not yet said whether they will host the stream or remove users’ copies of it.
“Companies will wait until the very last minute to tell the public what they will do, because they know there could be a chance that Asset withdraws on it, ” Katie Harbathfounder of technology consulting firm Anchor Change and former director of public policy at Meta, told POLITICO.
Social media platforms are already under increasing pressure around the world to protect children from graphic and violent content. The planned live execution puts this obligation to the test: European regulators are warning tech companies not to broadcast the livestreamwhile Australian lawmakers call on regulators to prevent broadcasts on social networks.
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