Apple and Samsung have been hit with a class-action lawsuit over claims that their phones expose users to radiofrequency emissions up to 500 percent beyond federal limits. Meanwhile, the health debate around smartphones heats up.
The class-action suit, filed in the US District Court for
the Northern District of California, claims RF radiation emitted from Apple and
Samsung smartphones ‘exceed legal limits set forth by the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC)’, Apple Insider reported on Saturday.
The devices mentioned in the suit are Apple’s iPhone 7 Plus,
iPhone 8 and iPhone X, and Samsung’s Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8. The risks of
such radiation levels, it continues, include “increased cancer risk, cellular
stress…genetic damages, learning and memory deficits, neurological
disorders,” and a laundry list of other medical problems.
Children can absorb more than 150 percent more phone
radiation than adults, and up to ten times more radiation through their skulls.
With kids as likely to use modern smartphones as top-tier military personnel,
some researchers say that the FCC’s SAR guidelines
are inadequate.
None of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit claim to have actually
suffered any illness or health problems. Instead they are suing Apple and
Samsung – two of the world’s three largest smartphone manufacturers – for
misleading them into buying potentially dangerous devices.
According to Apple, “all iPhone models, including
iPhone 7, are fully certified by the FCC and in every other country where
iPhone is sold”.
“We are in compliance and meet all applicable exposure
guidelines and limits,” said Apple.
However, Samsung was yet to react to the developments.
