As of today, Facebook users can receive Amber Alerts from their states as notifications in their news feed, thanks to a partnership between the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the Department of Justice and the social networking company.
Facebook has set up 53 Amber Alert pages, one for each state plus Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the groups said in a written statement issued Wednesday. Find them indexed here or jump straight to Montana’s.
“Everyone at Facebook feels a responsibility to help protect children and, as a former federal prosecutor and a father of two, I am particularly proud that we are now part of the AMBER Alert program,” said Chris Sonderby, Facebook’s lead security and investigations counsel.
“We each can play our part by being aware and responsive to AMBER Alert postings that we will now see on Facebook,” said Laurie O. Robinson, the national Amber Alert coordinator.
Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock also sent out a statement announcing the service, saying distributing the alerts over Facebook will be a “great way to get information out quickly about missing Montana children.”
The announcement comes a day before the 15th anniversary of the abduction and murder of Amber Hagerman, 9, the namesake of the missing child alerts.