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I still don’t understand the actual point of this, beyond the optics of a vaguely-defined “emergency preparedness.” Emergencies are inherently local. Even if smartphones had been widespread in 2001 and the presidential alert system had been active on 9/11, what purpose would a nationwide alert have served?
There’s your answer.
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I accidentally swiped it on the iPhone lock screen and now it's gone. I don't see it in my notifications. Is there a way to find it?
https://screenshotscdn.firefoxusercontent.com/images/df2d9e6...
The moment I saw this pop up on my screen, all I could think of was the destruction one could cause via fake alerts. For instance, a warning of incoming nuclear warheads like what happened in Hawaii a few months ago. Sure, news stations might rapidly debunk it, but how many people wouldn't see it? Cell towers would be overloaded with calls and data, preventing the dissemination of info to many. Radio would be the bes…
Why can't I disable or opt out of this?
Probably because Google and Apple make essentially every phone in use and they agreed to ignore your settings in favor of the President's. I guess the benefit of not having control is that you can't be accused of being a jerk for having it go off during a movie or in court or whatever, since you have no choice.
This has nothing to do with POTUS Trump, its been out for years, even under Obama. You can disable all alerts EXCEPT the Presidential alerts, due to extreme emergencies which its used for. And I don't think its ever been used. But as alerts go, I had to shut off the Amber alerts, the local Seattle and King county was spamming my phone and even getting amber alerts for other counties hundreds of miles away. I carry 2…
"Presidential Alerts" don't actually originate from the President. They come from FEMA, which selects one of several pre-written messages that fits the current situation, customizes the text as necessary, and sends it out to the phone carriers. One FEMA official has to actually write the message, and then two others have to sign off on the wording before it can go out. So, no, you're not going to be getting mandatory…
I think you seriously underestimate how much of the government is run by convention, "norms", and regulations that are easy to change.
A bunch of us just got one. SERIOUSLY? Does it _HAVE_ _TO_ say "presidential alert"? Do I have to be reminded of "him" during a time of potential crisis? What could "Cheeto-Satan" have to say in a real emergency that is of any value whatsoever?
Hoo boy, I would love to see the raw upvote/downvote tally on that comment.
Instances like this, makes me wish more/all companies had transparency to be able to view their data.
Why can't I disable or opt out of this?
As long as its use is restricted to only that kind of sky-is-falling situation, I don't have a problem with being unable to opt out. If Trump starts using it to advertise his latest rally, that would be an abuse of the system and pressure to let people opt out would start piling up rapidly.
"Presidential Alerts" is a terrible name in a time where presidents from either party tend to have about 40% approval or less. The name just automatically angers a significant portion of the population, no matter who the president happens to be. Considering that the presidency is a political position, it's not unreasonable to expect "Presidential Alerts" to be of a political nature, even though that is not how the sy…
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I still don’t understand the actual point of this, beyond the optics of a vaguely-defined “emergency preparedness.” Emergencies are inherently local. Even if smartphones had been widespread in 2001 and the presidential alert system had been active on 9/11, what purpose would a nationwide alert have served?
