'It would scream through': Joyce pushes separate bill to block US execution livestream
- Barnaby Joyce, now flying the One Nation flag, demands a standalone law to block U.S. execution livestreams, refusing to let it hitch a ride on the government's social media crackdown.
- The Albanese government is juggling a 'digital duty of care' bill that would make tech giants liable for harmful content, including the Dec. 3 firing squad of Nidal Hasan.
- Communications Minister Anika Wells is set to introduce the bill Thursday, with minimal tweaks, proving that Australian politicians can move fast when they smell a moral panic.
- The execution, scheduled for a U.S. Army major convicted of terrorism, is apparently the tipping point for bipartisanship—everyone hates a snuff film, even if they hate each other more.
Brief Summary
In a stunning display of legislative agility, former deputy PM Barnaby Joyce is urging the Albanese government to spin up a separate bill to ban the livestreaming of a U.S. execution, rather than sully their grand 'digital duty of care' crusade with something as gauche as a single fireable offense. The proposal, which involves the scheduled Dec. 3 firing squad demise of ex-Army Maj. Nidal Hasan, has apparently united the political spectrum in the noble cause of preventing Australians from watching state-sanctioned murder on their phones. Communications Minister Anika Wells is set to introduce the broader social media bill Thursday, promising 'minimal changes' to a plan that would make tech companies the unpaid hall monitors of the internet. Joyce, now a One Nation defector, sees this as a golden chance for a 'quick legislative win,' because nothing says 'we care' like rushing a law through parliament to curb violence you'll never have to physically witness.
Why This Matters
For the average Aussie, this isn't just about a dead guy in Texas; it's about the government deciding that your internet viewing habits are a public safety issue. If this bill passes, your social feeds could be scrubbed of anything that makes the ad-sales team uncomfortable, from gore to, potentially, that meme your uncle keeps posting. The 'digital duty of care' is essentially a guilt-trip clause for tech companies, forcing them to police content or face the wrath of regulators, but the execution livestream is the shiny distraction that gets everyone on board. The real kicker: Joyce's push to decouple the issue might actually force a more focused debate on censorship, instead of letting the government bundle a wedge issue with a broader power grab over online speech.