The FCC Joins the Telecomm Industry to Defy a Supreme Court Ruling Allowing Cellphone Consumer Safety Advisories

CTIA, with support of FCC, AGAIN TRYING TO STOP ADVISORIES AT POINT OF SALE

In 2015 the City of Berkeley passed an ordinance requiring cellphone retailers to ​advise​ consumers, in a flyer at the point of sale, that keeping a cellphone in their pocket or near their body could expose them to wireless radiation above FCC safety levels. The ordinance is implemented and is in retail stores in Berkeley that sell cell phones.

It is a federal mandate that safe distance information be given to end users in a conspicuous manner. However, the information is currently hidden deep within the “fine print” of the cellphone or its user manual.

The CTIA- wireless industry association challenged Berkeley’s ordinance all the way to the United States Supreme Court- twice- and lost. Now the CTIA, along with support of the FCC, is requesting that the Courts reconsider the case stating that the Ordinance is an unconstitutional speech regulation despite the Courts deeming the ordinance legal and constitutional. The FCC recently submitted documentation to the Court in support of the CTIA. The FCC is known to have a revolving door with the telecom industry as documented in “A Captured Agency: How the FCC is Dominated by the Industries it Regulates” by Norm Alster, of Harvard’s Safra Center on Ethics.

 A federal district court hearing in San Francisco with Judge Chen is set for to rule on this motion. Keep up to date as news develops at: http://www.calibta.org/

The FCC’s submission was signed by their General Counsel, Thomas Johnson. Johnson, formerly worked at Gibson Dunn, the firm representing the wireless industry against Berkeley.  Theodore Olson is representing the CTIA and Lawrence Lessig is representing Berkeley.

According to Dr. Ron Melnick, who led the $30 million study by the National Toxicology Program/National Institutes of Health “the study found clear evidence of a causal link between cancer and exposure to wireless cell phone signals. Results demonstrated that cell phone radiation caused Schwann cell cancers of the heart and brain gliomas in rats, as well as DNA damage in the brain. Also, health concerns for children may be greater than that for adults due to increased penetration of cell phone radiation within the brains of children.”

Contact:
Ellen (Ellie) Marks
California Brain Tumor Association
cabraintumor@gmail.com
925-285-5437

Donate:
http://www.calibta.org/

Founded in 2008, the California Brain Tumor Association is a leading non-profit organization dedicated to safeguarding public health. We believe that it is inexcusable to allow technological advances invented to enrich our lives rob us of our lives instead.

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Entering the brain tumor world in 2008, Ellie became active after her husband was diagnosed with a malignant brain cancer which has been attributed to his cell phone use. Ellie has testified to Congress, attends International Expert Conferences, and has appeared on the Dr. Oz Show, Larry King Live, and many other national newscasts. Ellie is an outspoken advocate for educating, advocating, and legislating nationwide. Ellie is one of the lead authors of a legislative Briefing Book, which has been translated into 8 languages worldwide. Her work focuses on prevention of primary brain tumors which are caused by radiation.

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AFTERWORD:

The San Francisco Chronicle Article Continuing Discussion on the Issue (July 21, 2020): Government and Industry Combine to Downplay the Science on Cell Phone Danger, by Mark Leno, former state senator from San Francisco, and Ellie Marks, co-founder of the California Brain Tumor Association.