New York Attorney General Letitia James welcomed a Federal Communications Commission order that expands cell phone emergency alerts to include American Sign Language and 13 additional languages.
James issued a statement after the FCC published the order, which requires wireless carriers to support multilingual Wireless Emergency Alerts, or WEAs. The alerts are used by government agencies to warn the public about threats such as severe weather, natural disasters, missing persons, and other emergencies.
“This is a profound victory for the millions of New Yorkers and families across the country who will no longer be left without guidance during emergencies and natural disasters,” James said. “No one’s ability to protect themselves and their loved ones should depend on the language they speak. I am proud to have stood with my fellow attorneys general and advocates nationwide to push this rule forward. This language expansion will save lives.”
WEAs are short messages delivered through cell carriers and are among the most used public warning tools in the United States. For years, alerts were issued only in English, with Spanish added later.
The FCC order follows years of advocacy by James and other state attorneys general. In November 2025, James led a multistate demand letter urging the FCC to move forward with multilingual alerts.
Under the order, wireless carriers have until June 12, 2028, to update their systems to support alerts in Arabic, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), French, German, Haitian Creole, Hindi, Italian, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese, as well as American Sign Language.
The expansion is expected to benefit an estimated 1.3 million New Yorkers statewide.
