ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL CALLS ON FCC TO EXPAND MULTILINGUAL EMERGENCY ALERTS

ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL CALLS ON FCC TO EXPAND MULTILINGUAL EMERGENCY ALERTS

November 07, 2025

Chicago - Attorney General Kwame Raoul today joined a coalition of 14 attorneys general and the City of New York in demanding the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) immediately publish a long-delayed rule that would substantially expand language access for critical government emergency alerts sent to cell phones. The rule, finalized and unanimously adopted by the FCC in January 2025, would expand emergency alerts to 13 additional languages, including American Sign Language (ASL). However, for the last 10 months, the FCC has refused to move to implement it.

In a letter to the FCC, Attorney General Raoul and the coalition warn that if the rule is not submitted for publication within 30 days, they are prepared to take legal action.

"The proposed FCC rule would expand the reach of emergency alerts, ensuring more Americans are kept up to date with vital information on severe weather threats and other public safety emergencies," Raoul said. "There is no valid reason for the FCC to delay expanding access to this lifesaving technology, and I join my fellow attorneys general in calling for its immediate implementation."

Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEAs) are short, text-like messages sent by government agencies through cell carriers to warn the public of imminent threats such as severe weather, natural disasters, missing persons or public safety emergencies. These alerts are among the most widely used and effective public warning tools in the U.S. but have historically been issued only in English, with Spanish alerts being supported in recent years.

In 2023, the FCC voted to expand to additional languages, and in January 2025, it formally adopted the Multilingual Alerts Order, which requires the implementation of pre-translated alert templates in the 13 most commonly spoken non-English languages as well as American Sign Language. The order dictates that once the rule is published in the Federal Register, wireless carriers will have 30 months to update their systems to support multilingual alerts.

Nearly 10 months after adopting the order, however, the FCC has yet to officially publish it. Because the 30-month implementation period begins only upon publication, the FCC's inaction has stalled nationwide efforts to modernize the emergency alert system and ensure that more non-English-speaking communities receive timely, life-saving information during disasters or other emergencies. Without expanded language accessibility for WEAs, non-English speakers nationwide lack access to critical information to protect themselves and their families from severe weather and other emergencies.

Raoul and the coalition note that the Administrative Procedure Act and the FCC's own regulations require the agency to publish adopted rules in the Federal Register. By refusing to do so, the coalition argues that the FCC is violating federal law. The demand letter notes that the agency remains obligated to perform this non-discretionary duty even during the ongoing federal government shutdown.

Joining Attorney General Raoul in sending today's demand letter are the attorneys general of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin, as well as the City of New York.