N.Y. AG Wants WEA in More Languages

New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) urged the FCC and wireless industry to partner to expand language accessibility for severe weather alerts. FCC rules currently require carriers to send wireless emergency alerts in English and Spanish. The AG is “deeply concerned” the alerts don’t support other languages, James wrote Wednesday to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and CTIA President Meredith Baker. “In the absence of that capability, immigrant communities across the country -- including an estimated 1.3 million New Yorkers who have limited English proficiency and are not Spanish speakers -- are left without critical information to protect themselves in response to severe weather and other emergency situations.” James earlier sought more languages in a Feb. 23 letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and the National Weather Service’s then acting Director Mary Erickson. Erickson told James that NWS supported sending alerts in more languages, but the FCC would have to update its rules, the AG said. New York City Council Members Sandra Ung and Julie Won agreed in the AG’s news release Thursday. “In my district, where three Asian immigrants lost their lives during Hurricane Ida, 72 percent of the residents are Asian and over 90 percent of Asian senior citizens have limited English proficiency,” said Ung. The Asian American Federation and Asian Americans for Equality also supported the AG’s letter. "Within a WEA message, local alert originators can already today include links to websites with information that warns and informs the public about an emergency in any format, including illustrations or videos and multiple languages," said a CTIA spokesperson: Industry will keep working with the FCC, Federal Emergency Management Agency, New York state "and the broader alert originator community to ensure that WEA messages continue to fulfill their life-saving mission." The FCC didn’t comment.