YouTube, Twitch, Meta, and X aren’t saying whether they’ll allow the US government to livestream an execution on their platforms. The four companies didn’t respond to The Verge’s requests for comment after an unnamed Pentagon official said yesterday that the execution of Nidal Hasan, who was convicted of a mass shooting at a Texas military base in 2009, will be livestreamed.
Two platforms responded to The Verge’s inquiries. Jamie Favazza, a spokesperson for TikTok’s US operations, pointed to the platform’s policies banning “shocking and graphic content,” including “the moment of someone’s death.” Kick, a platform known for taking a hands-off approach to content moderation, confirmed that such a livestream would violate its policies. “If this was livestreamed on KICK, it would breach our Community Guidelines,” Kick spokesperson Audrey FitzGerald writes in an emailed statement to The Verge.
Hasan is scheduled to be executed by firing squad on December 3rd at 2PM ET. YouTube, Meta, and Twitch’s community guidelines suggest that this type of content wouldn’t be allowed on their platforms, but it’s unclear whether they would make an exception for the US government.
Meta, Twitch, and X’s community guidelines explicitly state that violent content involving death isn’t allowed, while YouTube bans content that “encourages dangerous or illegal activities that risk serious physical harm or death.” YouTube says livestreams that “feature someone holding or handling a firearm” aren’t allowed, either. Rumble, an online video platform known for hosting far-right influencers, also didn’t respond to a request for comment.