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New Zealand\u2019s national censor said on Friday it would not have the authority to block \u200cinternet users in the country from accessing a livestream of the execution of a former Army major planned by the US, as rights groups pressed governments to protest.<\/strong><\/p>\n Nidal Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist, was convicted of killing 13 people and wounding 32 others at the Fort Hood military base in Texas in \u200b2009.<\/p>\n The Pentagon said on Thursday Hasan\u2019s December 3 execution by firing squad in Texas would be livestreamed, in what would be \u200ban unprecedented broadcast of a US execution.<\/p>\n The decision is likely to draw scrutiny from governments around the world \u2060amid mounting efforts to protect young people in particular from harmful internet content.<\/p>\n One of the first countries to react was New Zealand, \u200bwhere the Classification Office, an independent government body, highlighted difficulties in restricting access to such material during a live internet broadcast.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Classification Office \u200bcannot classify a livestream event as it is taking place, and we, nor any other body, has the authority to block access to a livestream event,\u201d a spokesperson for New Zealand\u2019s Classification Office said in a statement.<\/p>\n New Zealand Chief Censor Caroline Flora said the threshold for banning content under New Zealand law \u200bwas high and required balancing freedom of expression with the likelihood of harm.<\/p>\n \u201cDistressing as content may be, it is not always unlawful,\u201d \u200bshe said, adding that she could not speculate on the likely classification of something before it exists.<\/p>\n Other agencies such as online safety organisation Netsafe may \u200cprovide information \u2060and advice as more details emerge, she added.<\/p>\n The New Zealand government didn\u2019t immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n The news has additional resonance in New Zealand, where a gunman killed 51 people at two mosques in 2019, livestreaming his crimes on Facebook.<\/p>\n The country has since been at the forefront of combating violent content online, with then-Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern launching a global campaign on the issue months after the attack.<\/p>\n US \u200bDefense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Hasan\u2019s \u200bexecution by firing squad was \u2060a \u201cno-brainer\u201d, adding that people need to understand there are \u201cserious consequences for these types of things.\u201d<\/p>\n Under US military law, a US president must approve an execution. President Donald Trump did so on Hegseth\u2019s recommendation, the \u200bPentagon said on Monday.<\/p>\n The White House declined to say whether Trump supported the livestreaming, referring questions \u200bto the Pentagon. The decision was criticised by rights groups, with Amnesty International Australia urging Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to press the US to reverse its decision.<\/p>\n \u201cThe suggestion that an execution by \u2060firing squad \u200bshould be livestreamed for public viewing is an appalling disregard for human dignity,\u201d said \u200bKyinzom Dhongdue, a campaign manager at the rights group.<\/p>\n \u201cTurning a state-sanctioned killing into a public spectacle only compounds the cruelty of the death penalty.\u201dRESONANCE<\/h3>\n
Public \u2060executions have become exceedingly rare worldwide. Among countries known to conduct them in recent years are Iran and Taliban-run Afghanistan.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for Australia\u2019s foreign \u200bministry did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n