The California Highway Patrol's use of X (formerly Twitter) for Amber Alert notifications led to widespread frustration this week when many users were unable to access critical information due to X's login requirements.
Earlier this week, the California Highway Patrol sent an Amber Alert push notification to phones in the Los Angeles area about a 14-year-old girl that authorities believed had been abducted. But instead of conveying vital information that could help locate the victim within the notification itself, the law enforcement agency linked to a post from its official X account, a practice it adopted six years ago.
But this time, many people reported they could not view the alert because they hit a screen that prevents users from seeing any content on X until they sign in to their account. The California Highway Patrol told WIRED it was aware of the issue and had reached out to X for more information. “We’re looking into it,” Sergeant Dan Keane said. X did not respond to a request for comment. Amber Alerts are issued by local law enforcement agencies to help locate children who are believed to have been abducted and are at risk of dying or serious injury. In California, the California Highway Patrol’s Emergency Notification and Tactical Alert Center is tasked with issuing the alerts. The law enforcement agency told WIRED it has used X (formerly Twitter) to push out the notifications since 2018 without any problems, at least until this incident. On other social platforms, including Reddit, Threads, and Bluesky, local California residents vented their frustrations about being unable to receive the details of an emergency happening in their community. “This should be illegal and everyone should be upset about this. If that alert was for my child and tons of people couldn’t see it because they don’t have a stupid X account, I would be beyond infuriated,” one person wrote on Reddit. “Why the fuck should a social media platform benefit from people wanting to be good citizens and informed about missing kids?” another asked on Thread
Amber Alert California Highway Patrol Social Media X (Formerly Twitter) Emergency Notifications
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