Oh Fuck! Now Cheeto's Going To Pollute My Phone with "Emergency Texts"??

If you like Trump tweets, just wait ’til you get Trump texts
Jessica M. Goldstein
thinkprogress.org
9-14-18

Would you like President Donald J. Trump to be able to send you text messages?

Next week, The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will be testing the Emergency Alert System, which gives the President the ability to “address Americans via text message in the event of a national emergency.” What exactly will constitute a “national emergency” to a man who is pretending that nearly 3,000 people did not die in Hurricane Maria is unclear.

As Talking Points Memo reports, the test alert is slated go out at 2:18 p.m. ET on September 20. (Save your duck and cover drills for another day; it will be labeled as a test.) The message will reach any cell phone that’s within the range of a cell tower.

When Trump was first elected, a flurry of news stories pointed out that with his great power came the authority to send “unblockable” text messages to the whole country. They’re known as Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEAs).

Though this does seem like the sort of thing the current occupant of the White House would design — a way to reach even those pesky citizens who refuse to follow him on Twitter — the Emergency Alert System has been sending out these national missives via text since 2013. They’re part of a program that followed Congress’ passage of the 2006 Warning, Alert, and Response Network (WARN) Act in 2006. And the messages don’t necessarily go to everyone in the country; they’re intended to target “geographically relevant” cell towers, though in a national emergency, well, every tower is geographically relevant.

All that said: It’s still far easier for Trump to hit caps lock and send on a tweet than it is for him to abuse these WEAs. Before the president can hit send on one of these warnings, the message has to go through FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert & Warning System. As New York magazine’s Select All put it back in November 2016:

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While FEMA is under control of the executive branch (the head of FEMA is selected by the president, and reports to the Department of Homeland Security), the agency would have a vested interest in not seeing their alert system bent toward, uh, non-emergency ends.

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And usage of the system requires more than a bit of technical savvy: “Most people with access take at least two courses in how to use the system.” Meanwhile, Trump still does not know how to use a computer and refers to the iPad as “the flat one.”

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nbcnews.com
FEMA's 'Presidential Alert' test postponed as some Americans want to disconnect


Plenty of Americans aren't terribly keen to be receiving text messages from the president, even in an emergency.

And they'll have a reprieve, if only briefly.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which oversees the wireless emergency alert (WEA) system, announced that the test that had been scheduled for Thursday will be pushed back to Oct. 3, citing the "ongoing response efforts to Hurricane Florence."

The initial announcement was met with concerns from social media users who stated that a direct message from President Donald Trump to the nation could be used for political purposes, similar to how he uses his official Twitter page.

One online user responded to FEMA's announcement via Twitter, saying, "We don’t need presidential alerts! We already have public emergency alert messaging. This is not necessary!"

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We don’t need presidential alerts! We already have public emergency alert messaging. This is not necessary! We should be able to opt out of these messages. Wth would he have to say that local agencies can’t. No!
— JoAnn (@JoAnnNYNY) September 15, 2018

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Many also went on to raise the issue of the alert being mandatory, with no way to opt of it. One user even messaged Verizon Wireless, one of the 100 wireless service companies that have agreed to provide the alert to their network, asking how she can avoid receiving it.

Some users even threatened to cancel their cellphone service, while others said they would protest the test by turning their phones off, creating the hashtag #GoDark920 in response to the original test date.

Stephen Cobb, a security researcher at ESET, a technology security company, tweeted via his verified account that the blowback against the test indicated the broader frustration with the president.

"This POTUS is so bad that folks are prepared to forgo the potential benefits of a national alert system - which already exists on radio and TV - because it is hard to believe Trump will not abuse it."

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A great example of why a bad president is so bad for the country. This POTUS is so bad that folks are prepared to forgo the potential benefits of a national alert system - which already exists on radio and TV - because it is hard to believe Trump will not abuse it.
— Stephen Cobb (@zcobb) September 15, 2018

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Jeramie Scott, director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center’s Domestic Surveillance Project, also said that without more information on the breadth and reach of this system, there could be a risk of abuse due to it's "intrusive" nature.

According to Scott, the WEA is an intrusive alert system because it stops all forms of communications to your mobile device while the alert is processing. The Emergency Alert System (EAS), which he deems less intrusive, displays emergency messages on T.V. and radio.

“With a system that affects so many people, it's important that we step back and have a conversation about when such a system should be used and make sure there are safeguards put into place when such a system is abused,” Scott said. “We need to discuss what limits can be imposed to prevent the president from abusing this authority.”

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On Sept 20, shortly after 2 pm, a “Presidential Alert” will be sent to all cell phones in the US, as a test. I don’t trust Trump, so my phone will be shut off at 1 and left off the remainder of the day.
Let the messages get backed up!! #GoDark920 Spread the word-retweet!
— Nancy Murphy (@caribbeanblue3) September 17, 2018

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Scott's concerns of a potential abuse of authority were echoed online.

Lastly, some users were generally confused about the sudden reasoning for such an alert system.

"What problem does this solve? Like what is gained by the president — any president — having the ability to put a message directly into my nightmare brick," tweeted data scientist Emily Gorcenski, from her verified account.

However, those large volumes of public concerns have been offset by excitement from emergency management workers.

"I think it is an outstanding tool in the toolbox," said Nick Crossley, president of the International Association of Emergency Managers in the U.S. "It is a great way to get notification to anybody who has a cellphone."

Crossley, who is also the director for the Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency in Hamilton County, Ohio, said that unlike local emergency alerts, mobile users cannot turn off the president's wireless alerts, making it more effective in life-threatening emergencies.

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So then the Emergency Alert must come directly from FEMA and not from the his phone. Otherwise he’s going to abuse it as a campaign tool for his own interest.
— Emmanuel Karlea (@KarleaE) September 17, 2018

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“The challenge with these sort of alerts is that very rarely is the federal government sending these nationwide alerts," Crossley said. "This responsibility usually falls to the local emergency systems, but if you have your alerts turned off, you won’t be prepared."

This is uncharted territory for most employees in emergency response and management, since this would be the first wireless emergency alert from an American president since the EAS was put in place by the Federal Communications Commission in 1997.

In its history, there have only been four instances where the EAS sent an alert from a standing president. The alert system was initially created to enable the president to speak to the nation within 10 minutes through an audio message in case of a natural disaster or terrorist attack. The most recent national test took place nearly a year ago on Sept. 28, 2017.

Help! Witchhunt!

So apparently the "Emergency" Cheetotext went out this morning. I didn't get it, which means the filters on my phone are working correctly. Thank Jesus for small favors.

Was anybody else subjected to this Federally subsidized spam?

Apparently some folks actually got the damned thing....

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