The Pentagon plans to livestream the December 3 firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan. People hold strong and different views on the death penalty. But on one point, parents across the country can agree: no child should stumble onto a man being shot to death while scrolling a phone.

Tech platforms have the power to prevent that. YouTube, which the government often uses for its livestreams, already has rules against graphic violence meant to shock people. Other major apps have their own graphic violence policies. Now is the moment to enforce them.

The biggest danger comes after the stream ends. Footage can be clipped, reposted and turned into memes, then pushed into kids’ feeds through autoplay and recommendations, even if the original broadcast is restricted.

Doctors are sounding the alarm. Pittsburgh-area psychiatrist Timothy Lesaca points to studies linking repeated viewing of violent footage, from the Boston Marathon bombing to the Oklahoma City bombing, with post-traumatic stress in both adults and children. He calls making this execution public a medical and public health issue. According to Wayne State University psychiatrist Dr. David Rosenberg, people who already live with anxiety, depression or past trauma face the greatest risk.

Parents should decide what their children see. Algorithms should not make that choice for them.

YouTube, Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and X should refuse to carry the live execution, remove reuploads and graphic clips, and keep any coverage of it out of autoplay, recommendations and young users’ feeds.

Sign the petition to keep execution footage off kids’ screens before December 3.