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.
Are Children Scrolling to Death?
This week on her Substack, Patricia Burke for Safe Tech International highlighted Social Media Victims Remembrance Day, where families who have lost children to social media harms gathered together in Washington DC to honour their children and demand accountability from Big Tech and lawmakers. Listen and watch this video: The Heat is On…DC: How many more? There is also a TED talk by Jonathan Haidt titled “How screens stole childhood — and how to get it back”. It asks what happens when smartphones take over childhood, tablets replace textbooks, and disturbingly, AI companies infiltrate our lives. Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt explains why after sounding the alarm in “The Anxious Generation,” he’s more concerned (and hopeful) than ever before. Following simple daily steps recommended in the OFF Manifesto, provide a valuable first step in reclaiming a healthier life.
Data Centres: the Great Pushback
Residents of Great Torrington in England have gathered to stop one of Europe’s largest data centres, costing £13.8 billion. Australians recently prevented one that was planned near the Blue Mountains, because more than 60,000 people signed petitions to delay data centre projects across the country. Canadians have taken to the streets in Vancouver to stop AI factories in their city. Meanwhile, in Hamilton, Ontario, the public opposition to data centres was so great it forced the data centre plans to be put on hold. In the USA, 75 major data centre projects were blocked in the first 3 months of 2026, thanks to an increase in public awareness. AI has not delivered on its promises, sparking a momentum in preventing these Big Tech developments. Read more here.
The Pledge to Scrap Digital ID
In the UK, thousands of supporters have been printing, signing, and posting their Pledges to Andy Burnham to Pledge Against Digital ID. The Together Declaration is encouraging as many people as possible to get their Pledges in the post before Sunday. A physical Pledge shows that you have made a considered decision. The steps are simple: print the pledge, sign the pledge, post the pledge to the address: Andy Burnham MP, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA. If you haven’t yet sent your Pledge, please take action today.
Stop the Cell Tower Takeover: Camilla Rees, Scott McCollough
Earlier this year, a very insightful video was released that discussed the skyrocketing growth of cell towers (telecoms masts) in neighbourhoods across the globe. In the USA, local residents have had no say in pushing back on these infrastructures owing to the new proposed Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules that preempt all state and local authority over the siting, permitting, and regulation of cell towers and antennas. As the discussion between Camilla Rees and W. Scott McCollough reveals, no injections are possible regarding the location, size, height and number of antennas. Also, no supporting environmental reviews are needed, and these structures can appear without notice, and there will be nothing one can do about it. The proposed rules even say local governments will not be allowed to hire outside experts to measure emissions from the antennas. This has prompted the 704 No More® campaign, we highlighted last week. See here for more details.
Plummeting birthrates and Smartphones
In another post by Patricia Burke for Safe Tech International, a newsletter from the OFF Movement, the drivers behind the plummeting birthrates across most countries are questioned. In the newsletter, the question is posed that being hyperconnected may be playing a major role in the decline in birth rate. However, between the early and mid-2010s, birth rates have fallen very abruptly in the vast majority of countries. An analysis by scholar Alice Evans suggests this might be because people are socializing less, have fewer opportunities to potential partners and thus more adults remain single. Crucially, this trend is seen everywhere regardless of socioeconomic status. This short video hints at some reasons, including our digital media environment, and the high costs of housing and raising a child. The smartphone effect and the associated decline in social interaction, indicate a causal relationship between the rollout of broadband, Wi-Fi and telecoms networks and declining fertility among younger generations. Ultimately, the hyper-digitalisation of our lives, along with the deterioration of mental health, and the rise of loneliness, all reinforce social isolation. Follow the OFF Manifesto that encourages the right to disconnect.
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