House Passes Social Media Emergency Response Bill

July 2014 – With the continuous growth of emergency response on social media, the House passed the Social Media Working Group Act of 2014 [HR 4263] allowing the Department of Homeland Security to establish social media use standards in the event of terrorist attacks. The bill encourages the federal government to communicate with citizens by establishing a social media working group to report emergency preparedness support technologies, social media response activity, and social media use recommendations to DHS and Congress. Bill sponsor, Rep. Susan Brooks (R-Indiana) stated, “Social media is transforming the way the nation responds before, during, and after a terrorist attack.” Recent research by the Wireless RERC indicates that people with disabilities are active user of social media, generally, and their use of social media platforms for receipt and sharing of emergency information is on the upswing.