NDAA passed: Internet and Online Streaming Services Emergency Alert Study

Mon Jan 4 15:09:14 UTC 2021

On 1/4/21 10:01 AM, Masataka Ohta wrote:
> Any device with speaker should produce audible alert and any
> device with display should produce visible alert.

I'm not sure typical North American residential construction could  
tolerate the sonic pressure generated by such a "goal"...

Streaming devices, sure.  They're in-line with conventional distribution  
channels for emergency alerts such as television, radio, etc.  That  
would include "smart speakers", TV streaming sources, etc.

But my refrigerator, washing machine, etc. does not need to do  
this...many could (they have Internet connectivity in some cases), but  
that's just overkill and honestly silly.

I'm also of the mindset that, in the end, the owner/operator of a given  
device should be given the authority to disable emergency alerts on that  
device. It's their device, after all. They may have other ways they  
prefer to receive such alerts, or they may want to die in a tornado. I'm  
not going to stop them. Conventional devices like TVs only alert when  
on, and things like weather radios can be placed into a non-alerting  
mode without losing other owner-relevant functionality.

I'll note that most mobile phones allow the user to turn off most  
(though usually not all) emergency alerts.  Non-OEM OS ROMs often go  
further.
-- 
Brandon Martin