The United Kingdom is set to conduct its first test of a new emergency alert service on Sunday as a loud alarm will ring from millions of mobile phones and the devices will vibrate at 3:00 pm (1400 GMT).
The national emergency system, which has been modelled based on similar schemes in the United States, the Netherlands, Canada and Japan, aims to warn the people if there is something nearby which can endanger their life but has received criticism over “nanny state” intrusion.
“This is a test of Emergency Alerts, a new UK government service that will warn you if there’s a life-threatening emergency nearby,” the message will say.
The government and emergency services hope to use the system for alerting people regarding issues like fire and severe flooding.
The alarm, which will ring for 10 seconds, will emit a sound even if the mobile phones are on silent and is likely to disrupt sporting and entertainment events, including Premier League football matches.
World Snooker Championship’s organisers will put the play on pause just before the alert rings on the mobiles, while the members of the Society of London Theatre have been advised to ask audiences to switch off their phones.
The drivers have received a warning against picking up their phones during the test, and people who are not willing to receive the alerts have the option to opt out of the settings of their devices.
“Keep Calm and Carry On. That is the British way and it is exactly what the country will do when they receive this test alert at 3:00 pm today,” Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said.
“The government’s number-one job is to keep people safe and this is another tool in the toolkit for emergency situations,” he added.
‘Terrifying’: Plan receives criticism from a section of society
The plan was criticised by some Conservative figures as former minister Jacob Rees-Mogg appealed to people to defy the calls of the government and “switch off the unnecessary and intrusive alert”.
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“It is back to the nanny state -– warning us, telling us, mollycoddling us when instead they should just let people get on with their lives,” he stated.
Government minister Michael Gove’s former wife and Daily Mail columnist Sarah Vine called the plans “terrifying”.
“This Sunday, at 3 pm… the government intends to rattle our collective cages by invading our mobile phones — and our privacy — with its absurd emergency test signal. The notion is as terrifying as it is tiresome,” Vine wrote.
“Terrifying because it’s a reminder of the tyranny imposed on all of us by the technology that has invaded our homes like Japanese knotweed, infiltrating every aspect of our daily lives,” the columnist added.
(With inputs from agencies)
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