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New Yorkers Sue Trump and FEMA To Stop Presidential Alert (cnet.com)

Not everyone is pleased to hear that President Trump has the power to use communications systems in case of an emergency. According to CNET, three New York residents recently filed a lawsuit against President Trump and William Long, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to halt FEMA's new Presidential Alert messaging system.

The lawsuit reads in part: "Plaintiffs are American citizens who do not wish to receive text messages, or messages of any kind, on any topic or subject, from defendant Trump. [Trump's] rise to power was facilitated by weaponized disinformation that he broadcast into the public information sphere via Twitter in addition to traditional mass media." From the report: Presidential Alerts are similar to Amber or other emergency alerts on your phone -- you hear a loud noise comes along with vibration. The messages come from the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS), which attempts to send the alert to every cell phone within the U.S. operating on a network run by a carrier opting into the Wireless Emergency Alert system. IPAWS is used in the event of natural disasters, acts of terrorism or other disasters or threats to public safety. The plaintiffs' main complaint is that Presidential Alerts are compulsory -- there's no way to opt-out of receiving them. They argue that under civil rights law, government cannot use cellular devices to compel listening, "trespass into and hijack" devices without a warrant or individual consent.

The plaintiffs are also concerned Trump might use the alerts to spread disinformation because IPAWS doesn't regulate the content of the messages. That means Trump may be free to define "act of terrorism" and "threat to public safety," and may broadcast "arbitrary, biased, irrational" messages to "hundreds of millions of people," the plaintiffs say in the lawsuit.

5 of 511 comments (clear)

  1. Such a misguided idea... by Rei · · Score: 0, Troll

    ... connecting safety alerts to the president.

    We have safety alerts here built into our cell network. They're not even slightly controversial. If you're in some area and there's signs that a volcano near you is about to go off or there's a jökulhlaup or something, evacuation notices are issued to all phones in the area. And that's a great thing. I mean, why wouldn't you want that?

    But in the US you've connected your safety alerts to a political office (the presidency), whose occupant at least a third of the country will always strongly dislike - and the intensity of dislike is particularly strong with the current president. And he's famous for messaging rants. So you've sullied what should be an obvious "well of course everyone supports this" thing into one that people are suing to stop.

    --
    "Close the door! What, were you born in a barn?" -- Police chief, "Jesus Christ Supercop"
  2. Re:Huh???? by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 1, Troll

    Sure - after all, you can make stuff up (where every single one of your "witnesses" you named all completely deny your claim) about something that happened 36 years ago and has zero proof and demand that others lose their job because of it.

    --
    Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
  3. Haters got nothing to do by sentiblue · · Score: 1, Troll

    This comes from sour losers who don't like the President. If in fact a catastrophic event occurs and the President was not allowed to use the system, those same sons of bitches will whine "Why didn't the administration warn us?". Making speculation that the President will use the system to send irrational/biased messages is just plain stupid!!! He gets to say whatever he wants on his own twitter account but he will definitely be removed from office if he uses it to further his agenda.

  4. Re:We get it... by null+etc. · · Score: 1, Troll

    ...you guys are still butt hurt over the 2016 election.

    I'm butt hurt over the fact that I live in a country where half of the population is stupid enough to vote for Trump.

  5. Re: idiots, not from Trump, not authorized by Tru by phantomfive · · Score: 0, Troll

    Is there anything Trump has done that you think is good? If you can't name anything, then you have Trump derangement syndrome.

    --
    "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."