EU warns platforms over planned US execution broadcast — France 24

The European Union has warned digital platforms about their obligation to moderate content in connection with a possible online broadcast of the planned execution in the United States of Nidal Hasan. As France 24 reports, the former U.S. Army psychiatrist is scheduled to be executed by firing squad on December 3.

EU position

EU spokesperson Thomas Regnier said that under EU rules, platforms must diligently enforce their own terms of use. According to him, Europe has clear obligations regarding the moderation of shocking and violent content, including material concerning the death penalty.

Regnier noted that Meta explicitly prohibits livestreams of executions, while X and TikTok prohibit shocking content and the glorification of violence. He added that if platforms fail to comply with their own rules, the EU will use the powers provided for by the Digital Services Act, or DSA.

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Hasan’s execution

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the Pentagon proposed broadcasting Hasan’s execution. According to the outlet, in 2009 he shot dead 13 people during an attack on a military base, which France 24 describes as inspired by al-Qaeda.

U.S. President Donald Trump did not specify whether the execution would be publicly broadcast. The Trump administration had previously criticized the DSA, calling the law a tool of “foreign censorship,” but these accusations are rejected in Europe.