COLUMBUS -- An upgrade to the National Emergency Alert System means a message from the president could go right to your cell phone, along with emergency and AMBER alerts.
Users would have no choice but to receive Presidential Alerts, but new software available on some iPhones allows users to opt out of receiving the other messages.
Presidential alerts date back to the Cold War.
"No president has ever issued a nationwide alert, and if it ever happens it will be a bad day for America," Federal Emergency Management Agency Division Director Antwane Johnson said.
The messages will appear on cell phones similar to text messages. Users will not be charged for receiving the alerts.
"The idea of that kind accessibility can make me a little nervous, but if I could have a part in saving a child's life because I can get an AMBER Alert, I don't see how I can be opposed to that," said Julie Bauer of Oxford, Ohio.
Courtesy of our sister station, ABC 6.
Read more here.
Users would have no choice but to receive Presidential Alerts, but new software available on some iPhones allows users to opt out of receiving the other messages.
Presidential alerts date back to the Cold War.
"No president has ever issued a nationwide alert, and if it ever happens it will be a bad day for America," Federal Emergency Management Agency Division Director Antwane Johnson said.
The messages will appear on cell phones similar to text messages. Users will not be charged for receiving the alerts.
"The idea of that kind accessibility can make me a little nervous, but if I could have a part in saving a child's life because I can get an AMBER Alert, I don't see how I can be opposed to that," said Julie Bauer of Oxford, Ohio.
Courtesy of our sister station, ABC 6.
Read more here.