CARSON, Calif.—Rep. Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.) joined Federal Communications Commission member Anna Gomez and Carson City Mayor Lula Davis-Holmes on Tuesday to demand that FCC Chair Brendan Carr immediately publish the implementation requirements for the agency’s multilingual Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) rule in the Federal Register—a necessary step to activate this life-saving policy unanimously approved by the agency in October 2023.

The delay has been blamed on a regulatory freeze imposed by President Donald Trump, who signed an executive order in March declaring English as the official language of the United States.

Gomez and Holmes said the delay in publishing these implementation requirements has stalled critical improvements to the WEA system that would make emergency alerts accessible in more than a dozen languages, including Chinese, Korean, Tagalog and Vietnamese.

“In emergencies, every second counts—and every word must be understood,” Barragán said. “We’ve seen what happens when communities don’t get accurate information in their language. It leads to panic, confusion and danger. Chairman Carr’s delay is not just bureaucratic, it’s reckless.”

The press conference comes after a false evacuation alert that was sent out to residents in Los Angeles County during the January wildfires, which caused widespread chaos when a technical glitch sent a county-wide warning intended for a single neighborhood. This was confusing for all 10 million L.A. County residents who received the alert, but especially for the 2.5 million residents who are classified as having limited English proficiency. When disaster struck, many non-English speakers were left unsure of what was happening, compounding confusion and fear.

“As we see an increase in natural disasters such as wildfires, floods, and hurricanes, expanding access to life-saving information is becoming more and more important,” Gomez said. “We cannot play politics with public safety. It’s time for the FCC to allow this process to move forward so that more people can receive the critical information they need in their chosen language.”

Added Davis-Holmes: “When lives are on the line, there’s no excuse for delay. In a city as diverse as Carson, our residents need to receive nationwide emergency alerts in the language they understand. This is about equity, safety and respect. I join Congresswoman Barragán and Commissioner Gomez in calling on Chairman Carr to do what’s right—act now and publish the implementation requirements.”

Barragán, Gomez and Davis-Holmes urged Carr, a Republican, to publish the implementation requirements immediately to start the 30-month compliance clock, requiring mobile service providers to install alert templates on Americans’ phones that would automatically translate alerts into the devices’ default language.

The push has strong backing from the top Democrat on the Senate Telecommunications Subcommittee and the current and former Chairs of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, and Congressional Black Caucus, whose members represent communities most impacted by language-access failures.

The archived livestream of the event is here.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The FCC has adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPR) that would create new rules for emergency alerts that the agency believes will make it easier for emergency managers to send emergency alerts in non-English languages to the public over television and radio. 

The agency said that the proposal would remove a key barrier to sending multilingual messages through the Emergency Alert System, which could in turn spur more alerts that are accessible to more people—and potentially save lives.

In January the FCC announced that it would vote in February on a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that it said would remove technical and logistical barriers associated with the translation of EAS alerts. It would accomplish this by creating templates or pre-scripted alert messages that have been pre-translated into non-English languages and prerecorded audio files.

The cable operators-backed NCTA has already pushed back against the idea, saying it would pose technical challenges for cable operators. 

In a NPR adopted on Feb. 15, the FCC said that it is seeking comment on proposals to:  

• Create template alert scripts in the 13 most commonly spoken non-English languages in the U.S.  These template scripts and audio files would be produced by the Commission and installed in the Emergency Alert System equipment operated by Emergency Alert System participants, such as broadcasters and cable providers.
• Seek comment on the feasibility of developing and implementing American Sign Language (ASL) versions of the template alerts, including how ASL translations of the template scripts would be processed and displayed.  
• Establish a process through which emergency managers can initiate template alerts, which Emergency Alert System participants would then be required to transmit on their channel(s) in the template language that corresponds to their programming content.

In adopting the NPR, the FCC noted that according to U.S. Census data, over 26 million people in the U.S. report that they do not speak English very well or at all.

While the Emergency Alert System currently allows authorities to issue their alerts in languages other than English, the vast majority of these alerts are issued only in English, the FCC said, adding that one of the key multilingual alerting challenges faced by authorities is translating time-sensitive alerts into additional languages during crises.  

The Commission’s proposal would address this challenge by presenting emergency managers with pre-scripted, template alert messages and prerecorded audio files in non-English languages as an option for initiating alerts over the Emergency Alert System. 

WASHINGTON, D.C.—As part of its tentative agenda for the February Open Commission Meeting, Federal Communications Commission has announced that it will vote on a proposal to increase the accessibility of the Emergency Alert System by making it easier for TV, radio and other outlets to send multilingual emergency alerts.

At the Feb. 15 meeting, the FCC will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking intended to simplify the process for alert originators to send multilingual emergency alerts over television and radio. (PS Docket No. 15-94).

The FCC said this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeks to remove technical and logistical barriers associated with the translation of EAS alerts by creating templates or pre-scripted alert messages that have been pre-translated into non-English languages and prerecorded audio files. These messages can then be initiated by alert originators for distribution to the public by the TV and radio broadcasters, cable service providers, and other “EAS Participant” services that make up the EAS public alert distribution system.

The FCC said that its proposals aim to: 

• Make it much easier to issue multilingual EAS alerts by creating template alert scripts that would be pre-translated into the 13 most commonly spoken non- English languages in the United States (based on U.S. Census data) – Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Arabic, French, Korean, Russian, Haitian Creole, German, Hindi, Portuguese, and Italian – as well as in English. These pre-translated template-based scripts and audio files would be produced by the Commission, and would be pre-installed in the EAS equipment operated by EAS Participants.
• Seek comment on the feasibility of developing and implementing American Sign Language (ASL) versions of the template alerts, including how ASL translations of the template script would be processed and displayed.
• Establish a process through which alert originators can initiate template alerts, which EAS Participants that participate in state and local EAS alerting would be required to transmit on their channel(s) in the template language that corresponds to the programming content of such channel(s). The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking also seeks comment on whether to require EAS Participants to issue the template alert only in the language that corresponds to the programming content of their channel(s), or whether they should also be able to include additional languages.

 The FCC said that other items for the Feb. 15th meeting include:  

• Empowering Consumers to Block Robocalls and Robotexts – The Commission will consider a Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to strengthen consumers’ ability to revoke consent so that it is simple and easy, codify previously adopted protections that make it simpler for consumers to revoke consent, and require that callers and texters implement requests in a timely manner.  The item also proposes and seeks comment on clarifying that the TCPA applies to robocalls and robotexts from wireless providers to their own subscribers and for the first time proposes to give consumers the ability to revoke consent and thereby stop these communications. (CG Docket No. 02-278)
• Expanding Opportunities for Wireless Microphone Use – The Commission will consider a Report and Order to revise the Part 15 and 74 technical rules to permit recently developed, and more efficient, wireless microphone technology. (RM-11821; ET Docket No. 21-115)
• Facilitating Capabilities for In-Space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing – The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would propose a framework for licensing space stations engaged in in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing—or “ISAM”—operations, which would facilitate the development of these novel space activities that support sustained economic activity in space and would advance opportunities for innovation in the new space age. (IB Docket Nos. 22-271; 22-272)

More information on the tentative agenda for the meeting is available here. 

WASHINGTON—In an effort to inform and promote state and local emergency management authorities on how they can implement multilingual alerts for the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) system, the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau is hosting a public workshop on June 28 at the FCC headquarters in Washington, D.C.

The agenda for the workshop has officially been announced, including the panelists that will make up the sessions.

The day will begin with a welcome from Zenji Nakazawa, public safety and consumer protection advisor to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, before heading into its first panel. The initial panel, which will begin at 9:15 a.m., is titled “Regulatory Framework for Multilingual Alert Distributions Over the EAS and WEA Systems.” David Munson, attorney advisor with PSHSB, will moderate a panel made up of Orlando Bermudez from the Multimedia Assistance in Spanish Program, Austin/San Antonio Weather Office, NOAA; Justin Cain, deputy chief, Operations and Emergency Management division at PSHSB; Gregory Cooke, the chief for the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs at CGB; Matthew Grest, vice president, regulatory affairs, CTIA; Al Kenyon, IPAWS Customer Support Branch chief, IPAWS Program Office, Continuity Communications Division DHS—FEMA; NCTA Vice President of Engineering Andy Scott; and Larry Walke, associate general counsel for the NAB.

At 10:15 a.m., panel number two, “Examples of How Various State and Local Journalists Provide Multilingual Alerting,” is scheduled. Cooke and Munson will co-moderate this panel, which is set to feature John Dooley, MN—Department of Public Safety; Fred Engel, chief technology officer at UNC-TV; Andy Huckaba, councilmember for Lenexa, Kan.; Jesus Salas, executive vice president of programming for Spanish Broadcasting System Inc. in Miami; Francisco Sanchez, deputy emergency management coordinator for Harris County, Texas; Aaron Wilborn, the marketing manager for Dick Broadcasting Company in Savannah, Blufton, Hilton Head and Beaufort, Ga.; and Adam Woodlief, chief technology officer for Georgia Public Broadcasting.

The final session of the day, slated to start at 1 p.m., is “Current Capabilities in EAS and WEA Equipment, and Complementary Technologies for Sending Multilingual Alerts.” Munson and Cooke again will moderate. Panelists for the final session include Dr. Edward Czarnecki, senior director—Strategy and Government Affairs for Digital Alert Systems Inc.; Brian J. Toolan, the director of government strategy with Everbridge; Xperi Corporation’s Vice President of Radio Technology Solutions Ashruf El-Dinary; Pat Feldhausen, offering manager with the Weather Company; and Harold Prince, president of Sage Alerting Systems.

The workshop, which runs from 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m., is open to the public, but admittance is limited to available seating. The workshop will take place in the Commission Meeting Room (TW-C305). It will also be broadcast live, with captioning in both English and Spanish, through fcc.gov/live.