ACHES has been set up to promote, enhance, and protect human and environmental wellbeing. ACHES provides a forum to highlight and advance the truth about legal, medical and scientific information relating to current and emerging technologies. Our ‘Weekly Picks’ summarise the most relevant news pieces from our partners and collaborators to raise awareness of the health harms caused by such technologies, and offer much-needed solutions to enhance our health.
Meta to Pay $18 Billion For Online Harms
The social media giant Meta has agreed to an $18 billion (£13.3 billion) settlement with US states and territories to resolve claims that Facebook and Instagram harmed children. Apparently, a California judge approved the settlement, which Meta must pay to 48 states, plus the District of Columbia and three US territories — marking the company’s largest payment over child safety litigation to date. Additionally, the company will implement various changes aimed at better protecting children online, including daily time limit prompts and night-time blocks. Meta has agreed to make the payment in annual instalments over a 10-year period. Good Morning Britain showed a brief video explaining more about this case.
Court Gives FCC 30 Days to Respond to CHD Petition on Wireless RFR Harms
A huge story this week in the Children’s Health Defense (CHD) is that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has 30 days to explain why it hasn’t complied with a 2021 court order requiring the agency to reveal how it determined that current radiofrequency radiation (RFR) exposure limits adequately protect people and the environment. The current exposure limits have not been updated in 30 years! The ruling stems from a petition the CHD filed earlier this year to obtain the information. “This is a huge deal, and we are very pleased with the court’s order,” said Miriam Eckenfels, director of CHD’s Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR) & Wireless Program. The order by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit represents a big step toward holding the FCC accountable for not protecting people and the environment from wireless radiation. “The FCC’s inaction to address the mountain of science on the health impacts of wireless radiation is nothing short of reckless,” says Miriam Eckenfels. Read more about this story here.
Genotoxic Biomarkers in Children from RF Exposure
An article featured on Patricia Burke’s Substack for Safe Tech International of a cross-sectional analysis reveals that higher radiofrequency (RF) power density and shorter distance from mobile phone base stations has raised concerns regarding potential biological effects, particularly in children. The study published in Scientific Reports showed RF levels were inversely correlated with mobile phone mast stations, and increased micronuclei frequency — a biomarker of genomic instability. The worrying aspect to this is that the levels of RF were below current international public exposure guidelines. These findings suggest that variation in exposures to RF in school environments may be associated with micronuclei frequency in children. This revelation makes the above story about the FCC responding to the CHD petition ever more important — please spread the word.
CDC Industry Experts ‘Selective’ Info on Wireless Risks
Patricia Burke also highlighted an interesting post from the Environmental Health Sciences. Internal documents from FOIA requests by Theodora Scarato reveal that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) hired Kenneth Foster, PhD, an industry consultant to serve as a subject matter expert. This included drafting new CDC website pages on the health risk of wireless wearables, cell phones, power lines, smart meters, Wi-Fi, and electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS, also known as EMR-Syndrome). Theodora Scarato began a multi-year investigation into the CDC website pages following the agency’s 2014 removal of earlier posted precautionary advice on reducing cell-phone radiation exposure. The CDC site claims: ‘harm from wireless radiation is “not proven” and that EHS is “not a proven condition caused by electromagnetic fields”. This post highlights the dubious lengths the industry takes to deny any health risks posed by wireless radiation. Check out the revealing email exchanges.
For Children’s Sake: Time for a Digital Detox, says Australia
A story in the Guardian about Jason Clare, the federal education minister, who posted on Facebook that: “When I was a kid there was a computer room at school. Now they are everywhere. From morning till night…I think there is a good argument our kids need a digital detox”. Since that post, the minister told ABC News Breakfast, he has been ‘inundated’ with support from parents and teachers. This latest news follows the Victorian government’s announcement that it will abolish the use of bring-your-own-device programs in primary schools, and limit screen use to 90 minutes per day for children aged 3 to 6 years from January 2027. This pattern is not limited to Australia. Across the world, many schools are wrestling with declining academic results and concerns about student wellbeing. See here for more on this story.
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