Once or twice a year for arguably not too major things is better than never, because it helps test the system and people won’t get overwhelmed by 1 or 2 alerts a year. Like a fire drill, but maybe slightly more useful since it actually is providing some actual info hopefully.
If they concider firing off more than that, they need to start raising the bar so that they don’t (excepting the emergency action requirement you laid out, obviously if bombs are dropping then regular alerts are justified)
Ignoring whether or not this alert was appropriate or not, the government sends out test alerts periodically to both test the system and for people to know their device works. They announce it in advance for a specific time so you can expect it and not panic, plus if you didn’t get it you’d know you have an issue on your side.
I think it depends on volume.
Once or twice a year for arguably not too major things is better than never, because it helps test the system and people won’t get overwhelmed by 1 or 2 alerts a year. Like a fire drill, but maybe slightly more useful since it actually is providing some actual info hopefully.
If they concider firing off more than that, they need to start raising the bar so that they don’t (excepting the emergency action requirement you laid out, obviously if bombs are dropping then regular alerts are justified)
Ignoring whether or not this alert was appropriate or not, the government sends out test alerts periodically to both test the system and for people to know their device works. They announce it in advance for a specific time so you can expect it and not panic, plus if you didn’t get it you’d know you have an issue on your side.