In the wake of an East Coast blizzard rated by NOAA as “crippling” (number 4 on a scale of 1 to 5), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has proposed new rules to update and strengthen the nation’s Emergency Alert System (EAS), which provides television viewers and radio listeners with severe weather alerts and other bulletins.
The proposed rules are intended to keep the system up to date, said FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. “Technology is evolving, which presents both a challenge and an opportunity for the EAS,” he said in a prepared statement. “As Americans increasingly view programming over new platforms, how can we ensure that the public still receives critical warnings when disaster strikes?”
The changes could more tightly integrate cellular, satellite and Internet communications into the EAS. The FCC also is exploring use of social media techniques such as crowdsourcing for sharing information in a crisis.
But one commissioner calls the proposed changes a power grab that would extend FCC authority. “I am most disturbed about those portions of the item that seek, or could be used, to capture the Internet in our EAS rules,” Michael O’Rielly said in a prepared statement.
Do we really want to bring Netflix, Hulu and other Internet program providers into EAS, O’Rielly asked. “Beyond the harmful direction in policy, we have limited statutory authority to regulate the Internet or edge providers, and I will not be supportive of any efforts to do so,” he said.
He also is concerned that new security mandates and requirements for and machine-translation technologies for the hearing impaired could result in burdensome regulation.
EAS is the successor to the Emergency Broadcast System, a Cold War-era legacy system built on broadcast radio and television technology for distributing emergency messages. EAS uses a hierarchical architecture from federal down to state and local authorities, and originally was intended for relaying messages from the president. But although tested and used locally, the system has never been activated on a nationwide basis.
The FCC plans to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and seek comment on proposals to give state and local authorities the ability to make fuller use of the system. They would streamline and automate state EAS plans filed with the FCC and allow federal, state, and local governments to issue public service announcements over the EAS Attention Signal. It also is considering requirements for EAS participants to certify the security of the system and expanding delivery of alerts to new platforms.
A variety of systems using cellular, satellite and Internet technology have been developed under a Common Alerting Protocol to create the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS), which complements EAS. Under the proposed rules, one element of IPAWS, Wireless Emergency Alerts, would be expanded to include 4G LTE-enabled tablets as well as cell phones.
O’Rielly said he is worried about EAS becoming an all-encompassing system that includes all Internet and wireless communications. “Although EAS has its place, we must remember that the underlying purpose of the Commission’s rules is to deliver Presidential emergency alerts—a protocol that, in fact, has never, ever been activated by the President,” he said.
The FCC published the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and its request for information on January 29.