Facebook will show Amber alerts in news overview in US

Facebook has announced that the company will now show Amber alerts in people’s news feed in the United States. The reports are region specific. It is still unclear whether the same will happen in Europe.

The network site will partner with The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. The purpose of the interconnection is to locate missing children. The notifications will contain photos and other details about a child. People can then share the messages with friends. Although the report will be included in the News Feed, Facebook will not send notifications.

Governments must first assess whether a case lends itself to an Amber alert. The report will then be handled by The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, after which the message can be distributed via Facebook. In addition to information about a child, data about a possible kidnapper can also be placed. According to Facebook, one should think about the license plate number of a car. The police also determine the size of the region in which a message is distributed.

Google introduced a similar promotion in 2012. At the time, the company said it would show Amber alerts in the overview of the search results in the United States. Google called the service Public Alerts. It is unclear whether Facebook will roll out the service to other countries. The company does not make any statements about this in the announcement.