Schatz Statement On False Emergency Alert In Hawai‘i

HONOLULU – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), lead Democrat on the Senate Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet, released the following statement on the false emergency alert in Hawai‘i.

“There is no excuse for yesterday’s false alarm and the failure to quickly correct it. It terrified residents and visitors, and it undermined our ability to notify the public in a real emergency.

“This incident exposed serious weaknesses in our state’s emergency alert system that must be fixed. That’s why I’m working closely with the FCC, including Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, to investigate the incident, identify vulnerabilities in our system, and develop solutions and best practices for the federal government, states, and municipalities to make sure this never happens again. This system failed miserably.  We need to improve it, and get it right.”

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