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| 'Trump alert': US mobile phone owners get test message | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| More than 200 million US mobile phones have received a test "Presidential Alert". | |
| The trial is designed to check that a previously unused emergency communications system works properly. | The trial is designed to check that a previously unused emergency communications system works properly. |
| Unlike other alerts - such as natural disaster warnings - there was no way to opt out, except switching a device off or blocking its cellular connection. | |
| Some have described the test as a "Trump Alert" - but the US leader was not personally involved in the trial. | |
| Instead, the nationwide event is being run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema), which would also be in direct control of the system if a real alert was ordered by the US President, Donald Trump. | Instead, the nationwide event is being run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema), which would also be in direct control of the system if a real alert was ordered by the US President, Donald Trump. |
| It is intended to be used to warn of major threats, including: | It is intended to be used to warn of major threats, including: |
| The alert produced a tone and showed a notification saying: "THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed." | |
| It was being broadcast from mobile phone masts for about 30 minutes from 14:18 ET (19:18 BST) - with devices displaying only a single message. | |
| The test was mandated under a 2015 law that said one must be run at least once every three years. | The test was mandated under a 2015 law that said one must be run at least once every three years. |
| It was originally scheduled for September but was delayed in order to avoid any confusion while Hurricane Florence response efforts were continuing in North and South Carolina. | It was originally scheduled for September but was delayed in order to avoid any confusion while Hurricane Florence response efforts were continuing in North and South Carolina. |
| Legal challenge | Legal challenge |
| Congress has placed limits on when the president can trigger such a warning, saying it must relate to a natural or man-made disaster or public safety threat. | Congress has placed limits on when the president can trigger such a warning, saying it must relate to a natural or man-made disaster or public safety threat. |
| Even so, there was a last-minute effort to block the test and wider use of the Presidential Alert system. | Even so, there was a last-minute effort to block the test and wider use of the Presidential Alert system. |
| A journalist, a breastfeeding advocate and a fitness instructor teamed up to sue Fema, claiming the technology was a violation of their rights to be free from "government-compelled listening". | A journalist, a breastfeeding advocate and a fitness instructor teamed up to sue Fema, claiming the technology was a violation of their rights to be free from "government-compelled listening". |
| The legal action alleged that the test could be "traumatic" to children and that the system was open to abuse. | The legal action alleged that the test could be "traumatic" to children and that the system was open to abuse. |
| "Officials - including [President] Trump - are free to define 'act of terrorism' and 'threat to public safety' as they see fit, potentially broadcasting arbitrary, biased, irrational and/or content-based messages to hundreds of millions of people," the legal action claimed. | "Officials - including [President] Trump - are free to define 'act of terrorism' and 'threat to public safety' as they see fit, potentially broadcasting arbitrary, biased, irrational and/or content-based messages to hundreds of millions of people," the legal action claimed. |
| However, a New York judge refused the request at a hearing on Wednesday morning. | However, a New York judge refused the request at a hearing on Wednesday morning. |
| Others have used social media to complain about and mock the trial. Several have noted that anyone wanting to know the president's thoughts can turn to Twitter. | Others have used social media to complain about and mock the trial. Several have noted that anyone wanting to know the president's thoughts can turn to Twitter. |
| But in response, others have highlighted that the system was developed and put in place during the presidencies of George W Bush and Barack Obama. | But in response, others have highlighted that the system was developed and put in place during the presidencies of George W Bush and Barack Obama. |
| Moreover, after two previous alert system errors - the first involving a false alarm about a missile attack on Hawaii, the second involving a presidential proclamation about Senator John McCain's death being sent to the wrong people - there is an argument that the technology needs to undergo regular public tests if it is to be relied on. | Moreover, after two previous alert system errors - the first involving a false alarm about a missile attack on Hawaii, the second involving a presidential proclamation about Senator John McCain's death being sent to the wrong people - there is an argument that the technology needs to undergo regular public tests if it is to be relied on. |