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Feds Partner With Facebook, Bing For Amber Alerts

Attorney General says the sites will help recover more missing children.

Facebook and the federal government announced that they are working together to fight child abduction. Get ready to see an Amber Alert pop up in your news feed.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday - National Amber Alert Awareness Day - that it is teaming up with the tech giant as well as search engine Bing to expand the reach of the Amber Alert system.

Attorney General Eric Holder released a video message Tuesday morning and in it said the Amber Alert system has been key as an early warning system to find abducted children.

It’s been nearly 20 years since the system first started and it is credited with the rescue and safe return of more than 700 abducted children.

The alert has already been expanded to highway signs and mobile phones, and now the attorney general and the tech companies say social media is a logical place to send alerts and increase the number of children returned safely.

“Facebook’s geo-targeted alerts and Bing’s online broadcast tools will give Amber Alerts an expanded social media and Internet presence – extending our web of child protection resources into new and critical areas,” Holder said in the video. “I am grateful for their involvement, and for the participation of so many organizations and agencies that have helped to make the Amber Alert system such an important public safety asset.”

The Attorney General went on to say that finding an abducted child and returning them to safety depends on a fast response, and nothing is faster than the Internet.

“When an Amber Alert is activated, think of Facebook as the world’s largest neighborhood watch,” said Emily Vacher, Facebook’s Security, Trust & Safety manager.

“We’re sending detailed, relevant, timely information to people who use Facebook so they can open their eyes, they can look around their community, and hopefully find that one tip that will bring the child home.”

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