Amber Alert rocks cell phones in Oregon

Carla Axtman

Yesterday afternoon my Facebook news feed blew up with tons of folks posting about how they'd received a smart phone Amber Alert that was issued for two California children, who are thought to have been abducted.

The alert startled many of those who commented, especially because it was so unexpected.

The initial alert in California was the first time that the state had used the cell phone system for an alert. Some residents complained that this alert didn't provide enough information at first.

What do you think of this new tech use for cell phones? Did you receive one of the alerts? In the age of government surveillance and high tech spying, is there potential for abuse?

I didn't get one of the alerts on my phone, but the Emergency Broadcast System kicked in on OPB and I heard it while I was in my car. I'd heard that the cell phone alerts were based on location, not cell numbers, but I can't verify this.

By Carla Axtman Aug. 08, 2013