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Original poster

Am I being paranoid or is the fact the government have just set up an emergency alert system...

102 replies

BeaAggressiv · 01/03/2022 00:08

Really freaky?!

Do they expect it to be needed? Why now, is it because of Putin?

I'm not usually alarmist but this has freaked me out.

A warning alert to your phone with a siren?! Shock

OP posts:
HalleLouja · 19/03/2023 05:07

My DH has been working on this, for a long time. Apparently, we are one of the only countries who don’t have the system and its a disgrace its not been done sooner….

JudgeRudy · 19/03/2023 05:15

I feel the same about being stopped by the Police and asked what I'm doing.

ShirleyPhallus · 19/03/2023 05:18

JudgeRudy · 19/03/2023 04:34

It's not new. It's already there lurking in your apps. I have a Samsung and it cannot be disabled. I'm angry I'm not given a choice. Whether or not it's a good thing is not my point. It's an invasion of civil liberties which is a major concern of mine.

If it bothers you then get rid of your fancy Samsung and get an old Nokia or something

it isn’t an invasion of your civil liberties

JudgeRudy · 19/03/2023 05:26

ShirleyPhallus · 19/03/2023 05:18

If it bothers you then get rid of your fancy Samsung and get an old Nokia or something

it isn’t an invasion of your civil liberties

Show quote history

It's hardly a fancy Samsung!
You do not get to decide if my liberties have been invaded. I do.
They have

User6495321 · 19/03/2023 05:31

I thought they already had a system because they sent texts in Covid times to every phone. If they are too often though for everything, people will just ignore them.

User6495321 · 19/03/2023 05:32

At least we don't have to have an app...

Twiglets1 · 19/03/2023 05:39

You’re being paranoid

MrsTerryPratchett · 19/03/2023 05:55

FluffyMochi · 19/03/2023 05:03

I live in Japan and such alerts are completely normal here. We get them for typhoons and earthquakes, as well as North Korean missile attacks.

Amy of those would send someone in the UK into a tizzy.

The UK is fairly short on natural disasters and so the preparedness of other people is a little weird to us.

FluffyMochi · 19/03/2023 06:17

MrsTerryPratchett · 19/03/2023 05:55

Amy of those would send someone in the UK into a tizzy.

The UK is fairly short on natural disasters and so the preparedness of other people is a little weird to us.

Show quote history

I don't even live in a bit of Japan which gets many earthquakes, although typhoons are common. The first time I got an earthquake alarm was scary but luckily I'm used to it now.

donttellmehesalive · 19/03/2023 06:20

"It's hardly a fancy Samsung!
You do not get to decide if my liberties have been invaded. I do.
They have."

Constitutional law decides if your civil liberties have been invaded.

If civil liberty is freedom from interference then I find it odd that you consider an alert to tell you that you are in danger to be interference. If someone knocked on your door to tell you your house was on fire would you tell them to get lost because they were invading your civil liberties?

As pp has said, smartphones aren't compulsory. If you don't want one, you don't have to have one.

Phoebo · 19/03/2023 06:23

JudgeRudy · 19/03/2023 05:26

It's hardly a fancy Samsung!
You do not get to decide if my liberties have been invaded. I do.
They have

Show quote history

Erm. The fact you're on the internet n your phone would suggest your civil liberties were invaded a long time ago Hmm

follyfoot37 · 19/03/2023 07:03

Iy is happening on 23td April this year

follyfoot37 · 19/03/2023 07:04

*It

follyfoot37 · 19/03/2023 07:06

JudgeRudy · 19/03/2023 04:34

It's not new. It's already there lurking in your apps. I have a Samsung and it cannot be disabled. I'm angry I'm not given a choice. Whether or not it's a good thing is not my point. It's an invasion of civil liberties which is a major concern of mine.

get a grip!!

DustyLee123 · 19/03/2023 07:06

When I was a kid a van used to go round with a speaker on top, warning you about things. One of them was the water board if they were turning the water off for repairs. Not much different, and nothing to worry about,

Candymay · 19/03/2023 07:13

God there are some nasty people on here. This post has brought the roaches out of the woodwork.

User6495321 · 19/03/2023 07:33

We will probably need a board on here as there will be loads of posts from people every time an alert comes through.

Ginmonkeyagain · 19/03/2023 08:01

@JudgeRudy your government alerting you in an emergency situation is not an invasion of your civil liberties. HTH.

PupInAPram · 19/03/2023 08:10

I think we're actually behind many other countries in this regard.

Brefugee · 19/03/2023 08:13

we have it here in Germany. They test regularly. Last wan was a week or two ago.

What i noticed: my iPhone (work) went off a full minute before my Android phone. The sirens were very loud and i really jumped despite having explained to a colleague what was about to happen less than 10 minutes before it all went off.
This time they also used electronic notice boards at stations, airports and bus stops (etc) which gave a bit more info than just "ALARM". It can be targetted fairly precisely. So if, for eg, it's a damburst and people need to get to high ground, it will warn people in that area and tell them what to do. etc etc

It's brilliant and works really well.

Brefugee · 19/03/2023 08:20

It's an invasion of civil liberties which is a major concern of mine.

bloody Norah. It's a siren. You tap your phone and it stops. The sirens outside (are they being tested too?) not so much. I wonder though, even if you're of the "put your head between your legs and kiss your ass goodbye" school, surely you'd want to know when to start bending over?

Look at it like this: it would be an infringement of everyone else's civil liberties not to be warned of impending doom and / or disaster. You're probably a (tiny) minority who will have to suck it up. Democracy and all that.

I've always thought that launching an attack on somewhere at exactly the time they are testing their system would be the way to go because everyone would be so blasé. But then i aspire to Super Villain Status

Ihateboris · 19/03/2023 08:31

JudgeRudy · 19/03/2023 04:34

It's not new. It's already there lurking in your apps. I have a Samsung and it cannot be disabled. I'm angry I'm not given a choice. Whether or not it's a good thing is not my point. It's an invasion of civil liberties which is a major concern of mine.

I think if you go into notification settings, you can disable Wireless Emergency Alerts. I've done it on my Samsung.

JudgeRudy · 19/03/2023 10:30

Ginmonkeyagain · 19/03/2023 08:01

@JudgeRudy your government alerting you in an emergency situation is not an invasion of your civil liberties. HTH.

I agree. Installing an app on my phone that cannot be disabled is.

JudgeRudy · 19/03/2023 10:32

What youve done is essentially switched the ringer off. This can be over ridden. You have not disabled app.

JudgeRudy · 19/03/2023 10:39

Brefugee · 19/03/2023 08:20

It's an invasion of civil liberties which is a major concern of mine.

bloody Norah. It's a siren. You tap your phone and it stops. The sirens outside (are they being tested too?) not so much. I wonder though, even if you're of the "put your head between your legs and kiss your ass goodbye" school, surely you'd want to know when to start bending over?

Look at it like this: it would be an infringement of everyone else's civil liberties not to be warned of impending doom and / or disaster. You're probably a (tiny) minority who will have to suck it up. Democracy and all that.

I've always thought that launching an attack on somewhere at exactly the time they are testing their system would be the way to go because everyone would be so blasé. But then i aspire to Super Villain Status

Point totally missed. Firstly it's most definitely not 'just an alarm'. It's an app on my phone that I cannot disable. My notifications and permissions can be/are overidden. Do I think it's a good idea? Yes I do. I'm not suggesting it be banned, because most of the people most of the time don't care. Why can't it be disabled?