Presidential Alert emergency message
October 18, 2018
On October 3rd, 2018, the first nationwide test for a Presidential Alert rang out over 225 million people’s phones.
The purpose of this alert was to reach 75% of the population sending an alert saying:
“Presidential Alert, THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.”
This was to test the notification which requires no WiFi to be sent out to everyone.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is the one who sent out this text; they are the law behind the cell phone notification system. They are a system to prevent false alarms. For an
example, earlier this year there was an incorrect alert of a missile threat going to Hawaii which created terror for the people.
With this notification system, people will truly know if there is something endangering people’s lives or not. The FEMA does not just randomly send out any text message to the nation. There is a process, a very specific guideline, they must follow where two other people have to sign and approve of these messages in order for the texts to be sent out. This was even put on television and some news stations.
This are somewhat similar to the Amber Alerts on people’s phones, alerting those in the areas of missing children, or weather alerts for what could be happening in a given area. But, with this Presidential Alert, it will only alert people about verified information which could cause harm. The major difference is that individuals cannot turn off this alert.
This Presidential Alert spiraled some chaos. A hashtag started on Twitter called #Godark103 where people shut off their phones so they do not receive this presidential alert. People did this because they did not want President Trump to be invading people’s privacy, thinking the Presidential Alert feature would be abused because of his strong opinions he often posts on Twitter.
It even digressed to the point where a couple of people in New York have filed a lawsuit against Trump and FEMA to abandon the whole program. They are speaking about how this notification is against our civil rights, breaking the 1st and 4th amendments.
Overall, the whole point of this Presidential Alert Emergency Message is to let people know when there is something about to happen which could endanger lives.
Sources
– Ebbs, Stephanie. “Phones around the Country Will Buzz with the First National Emergency Alert Test
Wednesday.” ABC News, ABC News Network, 2 Oct. 2018,
abcnews.go.com/US/phones-country-buzz-national-emergency-alert-test-wednesday/story?id=582
33273.
– Martinez, Gina. “What to Know About Wednesday’s Presidential Alert.” Time, Time, 2 Oct. 2018,
time.com/5400574/presidential-alert-donald-trump-fema/.
– Wallace, Gregory. “Have a Cellphone? Expect a Message from the Feds This Afternoon.” CNN,
Cable News Network, 3 Oct. 2018,
www.cnn.com/2018/10/03/politics/cellphone-federal-emergency-alert-system-test/index.html.
– Martinez, Gina. “How People Reacted to the Presidential Fema Alert.” Time, Time, 3 Oct. 2018,
time.com/5414349/fema-alert/.
– Abbruzzese, Jason. “FEMA Sends Test of ‘Presidential Alert’ System to Cellphones of Millions of
Americans.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 3 Oct. 2018, 10:50AM,
www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/fema-sends-test-presidential-alert-system-cellphones-millions-
americans-n916171.
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