France to beef up emergency alert system on social media

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In this Thursday, March 16, 2017 file photo, a French police message alert of an attack at the Alexis de Tocqueville high school in the southern French town of Grasse is displayed on a cell phone in Paris. France’s Interior Ministry has announced plans to beef up its danger alert system to the public across social media. (AP Photo, File)
In this Thursday, March 16, 2017 file photo, a French police message alert of an attack at the Alexis de Tocqueville high school in the southern French town of Grasse is displayed on a cell phone in Paris. France’s Interior Ministry has announced plans to beef up its danger alert system to the public across social media. (AP Photo, File)

Paris (AP) – France’s Interior Ministry announced plans on Tuesday, May 30, to beef up its emergency alert system to the public across social media.

The ministry said in a statement that from June during immediate threats of danger, such as a terror attack, the ministry’s alerts will be given priority broadcast on Twitter, Facebook and Google as well as on French public transport and television.

The statement said that Twitter will give “special visibility” to the ministry’s alerts with a banner.

In a specific agreement, Facebook will also allow the French government to communicate to people directly via the social network’s “safety check” tool, created in 2014.

The ministry said that this is the first time in Europe that Facebook has allowed public authorities to use this tool in this way.

This announcement comes as a much-derided attack alert app launched in 2016 called SAIP is being withdrawn after malfunctions.

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