Californians Say X Blocked Them From Viewing Amber Alert About Missing 14-Year-Old
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.
