Open AccessEvaluating the Impact of WEA 2.0 Regulations on WEA Message Content Accessibility
Author(s) -
Salimah LaForce,
Dara Bright
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of emergency management and disaster communications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2689-9809
pISSN - 2689-9795
DOI - 10.1142/s2689980921500135
Subject(s) - commission , business , preparedness , emergency management , population , conversation , telecommunications , public relations , internet privacy , political science , computer science , environmental health , sociology , medicine , law , finance , communication
Policy is ever-changing and evolving to address the needs of the population it serves. The conversation surrounding emergency preparedness often excludes vulnerable populations such as people with disabilities. Therefore, policies and regulations must address existing gaps with inclusive emergency communications. As the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) re-examines and modifies regulations for the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA), it is invaluable to evaluate whether these regulatory policies have accomplished their intended effect to become more accessible and inclusive. Thus, this paper explores the impact of WEA 2.0 regulations implemented in December of 2019 on the accessibility of WEA message content and provides a comparative analysis on the accessibility of these messages before the regulation and after.