A Libertarian-minded Defense of Presidential Alerts
Today was the first ever national test of the system which can send Presidential Alert notices to almost every cell phone in the country. We've joked about it, which is good. We've also wondered, do we need to be worried that this could be abused? Is the ability to send a national, “no opting out” text message too much power for a President known for rash tweets? One thing to ask is whether there is a law from Congress that allows the Executive Branch to implement this system and strictly controls its use. And in fact, there is just such a law. This is from the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System Modernization Act of 2015: Except to the extent necessary for testing the public alert and warning system, the public alert and warning system shall not be used to transmit a message that does not relate to a natural disaster, act of terrorism, or other man-made disaster or threat to public safety. Okay, good. As long as the President keeps to this rule, and onl...