Facebook says it will begin firing off US police-sanctioned "Amber Alerts" to members of the leading social network to help find children who have been abducted or gone missing.
Alerts including pictures and details about missing children and their possible abductors will appear in news feeds of Facebook members in areas where those being sought might be found, according to the social network's trust and safety manager, Emily Vacher.
Facebook members sharing the news will be able to link to relevant information at the website of the US National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which issues Amber Alerts at the behest of police.
US Attorney-General Eric Holder said the Justice Department was a partner with Facebook and Microsoft search engine Bing to expand the reach of Amber Alerts in an age when people increasingly turn to online social media to learn of the latest happenings. Bing will allow users to access Amber Alerts through its online tools, according to Holder.
The Amber Alert system became operational in the United States in 1996, using radio announcements, highway signs and eventually web posts to put out word about abducted or missing children.
