China News Service, April 23 (Xinhua) According to Agence France-Presse, the UK will test a new emergency alert service for the first time on the 23rd. Millions of mobile phones will simultaneously emit a loud reminder sound and vibration at 3 pm local time.
The national alert system is reportedly modeled on similar programs in Canada, Japan, the Netherlands and the United States, and aims to warn the public of life-threatening events nearby.
According to the report, during the test, the British people will receive a message saying, “This is the emergency alarm test, which is a new service project of the British government. If there is a life-threatening emergency nearby, it will alert you.”
The British government and emergency services aim to prevent severe disasters, using the system to issue warnings to the public such as severe floods and fires.
This 10-second alarm can be heard even when the phone is on silent. The test is expected to disrupt entertainment and sporting events.
People who don’t want to be alerted can opt out in their settings, the report said.
But some Conservative figures have criticized the warning system, with British MP and former business secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg urging people to ignore the government’s call to “turn off unnecessary and intrusive alerts on their phones.”
“[The British government]is back to nannying us – warning us, dictating us, coddling us, but the most important thing they should do is let people get on with their lives,” Mogg said.
Daily Mail columnist Sarah Vine also called the warning system “frightening”. “The idea that the government is going to invade our phones and our privacy with absurd emergency tests… the idea is both scary and annoying.”
(Original title: Britain will test emergency alert service, millions of mobile phones will “ring” at the same time)