Facebook joins hunt for missing kids with Amber Alerts

12.01.2011
In an effort to find missing children faster, Facebook will deliver Amber Alerts to its users.

Facebook users in all 50 U.S. states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands can now sign up to receive Amber Alerts for their state as part of their news feed.

With the new service, which went into effect on Wednesday, users will also be able to share the alerts with their Facebook friends.

"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, Lead Security and Investigations Counsel at Facebook.

"We are hopeful that today's announcement offers these dedicated officials another useful tool to find and safely recover abducted children," Sonderby said.

The announcement came on Wednesday during a joint press conference with Facebook, the U.S. Department of Justice and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.