The FCC continues its investigation into what happened on January 17, when the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency (HEMA) mistakenly originated a missile alert issued over cell phones through the Wireless Emergency Alert system and television, radio and cable over the Emergency Alert System.
The person who did so really thought the islands were under attack, HEMA told the FCC. In its own report, HEMA said the person had confused real versus false alerts before and has since been fired.
Many mistakes led to the incident, the FCC found in its preliminary report the agency issued on Tuesday. It concludes a series of human errors, coupled with the HEMA having “inadequate safeguards,” contributed to the incident. HEMA has since changed its policies to prevent a future mistake, Inside Towers reported.
The Commission is now grappling with next steps. It’s planning to develop best practices with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which manages the system that states use to issue alerts. However, the now-fired HEMA employee hasn’t cooperated with the FCC investigation and it’s not clear if he can be compelled to.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai told reporters after the agency meeting on Tuesday he can’t speak about what actions the Commission will take. “We are hopeful we can secure as much cooperation as possible from anyone [involved] in this incident. It is critical for us to be able to act on facts and gather those facts.”
FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, who used to work in the office of the late Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI), was more direct. She believes the agency has the authority to compel states to use best practices for alerting “so that this never happens again.”
February 1, 2018
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