On August 8, 2025, the FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NRPM”) reexamining the Emergency Alert System (“EAS”) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (“WEA”) “from the ground up” and exploring whether fundamental changes to these systems are necessary. The NRPM was adopted at the August Open Meeting.
The item seeks comment on: (1) the intended goals and objectives of each system; (2) the scope of the appropriate participating entities; (3) necessary technical capabilities for national alert and warning systems; (4) the type and format of information to be conveyed to the public in an efficient manner; and (5) whether the current systems are meeting the needs and expectations of the public, and if not, whether a redesign is necessary.
The following notable changes were made from the draft item:
- ¶ 11: The Commission added an inquiry into the level of transparency and governmental oversight needed when non-governmental entities transmit safety-related alerts or engage in machine-to-machine alerting to maintain consumer trust.
- ¶ 17: The Commission added a question on how to improve multilingual alerting so that alerts effectively reach non-English-speaking populations, including whether additional steps should be taken to integrate multilingual capabilities into the design and modernization of EAS and WEA.
- ¶ 22: The Commission added an inquiry into how increased training for alert originators, public education, and stakeholder collaboration can improve alerting systems, including identifying and addressing gaps in training, public outreach, and best practices, and determining who should be responsible for filling those gaps.
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