Missourians reported experiencing a similar problem in July 2023, when the Missouri Highway Patrol posted another Amber Alert with a link to the X post. Local residents also spoke about how they did not see the warning unless they entered the platform. “It’s been a big change” in how warnings work, said Missouri Highway Patrol Lt. Eric Brown, who works in the department’s public information and education department.
But the incident did not prompt the Missouri Highway Patrol to drop the X as its destination for Amber Alerts. According to Brown, when X verified the law enforcement agency’s account as an official government agency, the login problem went away and the public could once again “access our posts.”
Several official California Highway Patrol X accounts have the same verification badge as the Missouri Highway Patrol, including one dedicated specifically to broadcasting active alerts across the state. However, not all of the agency’s California accounts appear to be verified, including what appears to be the official CHP’s Southern Division station, which covers Los Angeles County.
Back when it was known as Twitter, iX was widely considered a critical part of the global emergency and disaster communications infrastructure. Government officials and agencies around the world rely on the service as a means of disseminating information about hurricanes, mass shootings, and other issues. Before Musk took office in 2022, anyone could view public tweets in their browser whether they had an account on the site or installed the Twitter mobile app. (In 2015, the company reported that more than 500 million people visit the Twitter site a month without signing in.)
In June 2023, reports that X had started locking content behind the login screen began to appear online. At the time, Musk called the move a “temporary emergency measure” that was put in place because X was “having so much data being stolen that it’s degrading the service.” It’s unclear exactly what Musk was talking about, but that same month he expressed concern about AI companies like OpenAI allegedly deleting Twitter posts without prior approval.
Now it looks like the decision to turn X into a more closed platform is stuck. According to tests conducted this week, X has continued to limit what people without accounts can see. WIRED looked at many of its X reporters’ accounts without logging in, for example, and was able to view samples of their most popular posts rather than a full chronological feed. It appears that accounts held by government agencies are not limited in this way; All posts shared by the California Highway Patrol Alerts account can be viewed without logging in.
Besides allowing anyone to view content shared on the platform, another way Twitter had previously helped emergency communicators was by giving them free access to its API, which Musk later withdrew. That allowed organizations like the US National Tsunami Warning Center to send out automatic warnings about potentially deadly natural disasters. Researchers and first responders can use the API to monitor activity across Twitter and “extract valuable information, such as identifying high-risk areas or combating misinformation,” Hughes said. “The role of the platform has changed as policies and public practices change, so its performance today may look very different.”
Despite these drawbacks, the X remains an important platform for transmitting information during emergencies. In October, several government emergency responders told PRWeek that they planned to continue posting updates on X despite its declining popularity because they had amassed a large following on the site, and their bottom line was still making sure accurate information reached as many people as possible. But an incident in California this week highlights how government agencies can get into trouble when third-party services deemed trustworthy later change their policies in unexpected ways.