FEMA will test the "Presidential Alert" system next week

President Donald Trump may soon contact you directly on your phone – even if you do not follow him on Twitter.

Next Thursday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency will conduct its first test of a system allowing the president to send a message to most US cell phones.

More than 100 mobile operators, including all major mobile companies, are participating in the deployment, FEMA said in a message posted on its website on Thursday.

"L & # 39; EAS [Emergency Alert System] is a national public alert system that allows the president to communicate with the country during a national emergency, "FEMA said.

The test message will have a header saying "Presidential Alert", according to the agency.

Users whose phone is turned on will hear a tone and a vibration twice, and then see a message in English only (for the moment): "THIS IS A TEST of the Emergency Alert System without national thread, no action is required. "

The Wireless Emergency Alert System (WEA) was authorized by Congress in 2015 under a law which states that "the system shall not be used to transmit a message unrelated to a natural disaster, act of terrorism or another disaster threatens public safety. "

The experts did not seem too concerned that Trump, known for using his smartphone to detonate his opponents, bomb his subordinates and take pictures of the media on Twitter, could abuse WEA.

"If you separate that from the politics and personality of each president, then it's a great idea and an incredible use of technology to reach everyone if they're in danger," Karen said. North, director of Annenberg's Digital Social Media Program. at the University of Southern California.

Tim Groeling, professor of communication at UCLA, agreed, by e-mail, that "broadcast-based emergency alert systems … have remained professional and impartial for decades" .

The WEA is a new way to reach an America increasingly attracted by the fragmented forms of media found on phones, tablets and laptops. This widely used emergency alert system primarily affects radio and television broadcasters, cable operators, radio and satellite television providers.

"Such a system seems necessary at a time when most people are disconnected from" live "media like radio and television," Groeling said.

FEMA said the government can not track the location of end users through this warning system.

The test is supposed to take place at 2:18 pm EDT on September 20th. According to the 2006 Alert, Alert and Response Network (WARN) Act, mobile phone users can not withdraw from presidential alerts.