Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown has joined a coalition of 18 other attorneys general and New York City in calling for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to immediately publish a rule that would expand language accessibility for government emergency alerts. They sent a letter to the FCC last Friday.
The rule, formally known as the Multilingual Alerts Order, was adopted unanimously by the FCC in January 2025. It aims to modernize Wireless Emergency Alerts by requiring support for pre-translated templates in 13 languages, in addition to English, and requiring the inclusion of American Sign Language (ASL).
The coalition noted that for nearly 10 months, the FCC has failed to implement the policy.
"The Multilingual Alerts Order substantially expands multilingual access to life-saving Wireless Emergency Alerts, and the Commission’s failure to publish it for nearly ten months is both misguided and unlawful,” the letter stated.
Wireless Emergency Alerts are short messages sent by government agencies through cell phone carriers to warn the public of emergencies, including severe weather, natural disasters, or missing person alerts.
"In a disaster or other emergency, people need to be able to access critical information about how to keep themselves and their families safe, regardless of the language they speak and read at home," Attorney General Brown said in a press release.
The coalition warned that if the FCC fails to submit the order for publication within 30 days of receiving the letter, it will take legal action. The coalition specified that the FCC’s failure to publish the order constitutes a violation of the Administrative Procedure Act, adding that the Commission’s obligation to publish the rule remains even during the ongoing federal government shutdown.
The letter was led by New York Attorney General Letitia James and included signatures from attorneys general of 18 states total, including Washington, as well as the Corporation Counsel of New York City.
The Federal Communications Commission did not respond to media inquiries regarding the coalition's demands, citing the ongoing federal shutdown.
