United States: Court ruling in Florida: towards a ban on social networks for minors?

Court ruling: towards a ban on social networks for minors?
by Andy R., android-mt.ouest-france.fr/, June 5, 2025 - auto-translation

A high-profile Florida law aimed at banning minors under the age of 14 from accessing social media platforms has just suffered a major setback. A federal judge has ordered its temporary suspension, reigniting the thorny debate over child protection in the digital age versus the fundamental principle of freedom of expression. This American decision resonates particularly strongly as many countries, including France, are considering the best way to regulate the use of social media by young people.

In brief:

• Florida law banning social media for children under 14 suspended by judge
• Concerns about violation of freedom of expression have been raised by the courts
• This type of debate on regulating minors' access to social networks is also lively in France. 

Florida's Attempt to Disconnect Young Users

In the spring of 2025, the state of Florida made a splash by adopting some of the strictest legislation in the United States regarding minors' access to social media. HB1, in particular, provided for an outright ban on the creation of accounts on many platforms for children under the age of 14. For adolescents aged 14 and 15, explicit parental consent became necessary. The stated objective of Florida lawmakers was clear: to protect young people from the effects deemed harmful by social media, such as cyberbullying, mental health problems (anxiety, depression, damaged self-image), or exposure to inappropriate or dangerous content.

United States: Gov./FCC auction of spectrum ignores Federal Court ruling!

COLUMN: Gov./FCC auction of spectrum ignores Federal Court ruling!
wellsvillesun.com/, June 4, 2025
A precedent was set by The Environmental Health Trust and Children’s Health Defense v. FCC

An OPINION By Frederick Sinclair

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was created by an act of Congress in 1934 in order to manage and allocate nonfederal use of wireless spectrum; which includes radio broadcasting, mobile communications and satellite services. It is a small portion (band), of the full electromagnetic spectrum; that identifies and allocates a select range of frequencies in allocated spaces. These bands carry information in the form of vibrations (frequencies) within defined channels. They include phone calls, music, news, TV, emergency communication etc. It was in 1993 that Congress authorized the FCC to use competitive bidding (auctions) to grant long term licenses for rights to use specific frequencies for commercial wireless communication. This coincided with the advent of and subsequent rapid growth of wireless telecom, cell phones, the internet, and telemarketing. Banks of antennas were installed on towers, building rooftops, water towers, steeples, and satellite dishes appeared like mushrooms. Towers hosting multiple telecom providers dotted the landscape and the exploding world-wide addiction to wireless connection made owning bands of spectrum worth billions at auction.

United States: Telecom Industry Not Required to Accommodate People Sickened by Cell Tower Radiation, Courts Rule

Telecom Industry Not Required to Accommodate People Sickened by Cell Tower Radiation, Courts Rule
by Suzanne Burdick, Ph.D., childrenshealthdefense.org,  May 19, 2025

Wireless companies don’t have to make accommodations or changes to their practices or policies under the Americans with Disabilities Act when their towers make people nearby sick, even in their homes, a panel of judges ruled.

Wireless companies don’t have to make accommodations or changes to their practices under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) — even when their towers make people sick in their homes, a federal appeals court ruled.

The ruling came as a blow to plaintiff Henry “Hank” Allen, who alleged the radiofrequency (RF) radiation emitted by a cell tower installed next to his home triggered more than 15 episodes of atrial fibrillation.

Allen told The Defender the ruling confirms the “deeply troubling reality” that there is “no legal remedy for Americans being injured by wireless infrastructure.”

United States: Restoring Local Control of Cell Tower Regulations

 USA: Restoring Local Control of Cell Tower Regulations

An Initiative to Protect Children’s Health by Restoring Local Control of Cell Towers and Antennas.

704NoMore – 20apr2025.

(USA) Section 704 undermines public health, environmental protections, and individual rights.

Our mission is to change that. Let’s protect children’s health and the environment by taking back local control of cell towers.

Section 704 and other FCC pre-emptive actions enforce the FCC’s outdated RF radiation guidelines, ignoring mounting evidence of harm, particularly to children. These laws and preemptive actions also strip away our personal freedoms and property rights, and override the states’ traditional police powers that protect our health and welfare.

Protecting children’s health means changing the way wireless infrastructure is regulated.

Our team, led by attorney W. Scott McCollough, brings decades of expertise to the fight for local control and public safety in the telecom space. We are dedicated to impactful strategic litigation and advocacy, and are determined to turn challenges into victories. – Learn More

704-No-More - 1 pager Download

Source – 704NoMore.org – (USA) An Initiative to Protect Children’s Health by Restoring Local Control of Cell Towers and Antennas.

https://levaudsansantennes.ch/2025/04/20/usa-704-no-more/

United States: Residents of Massachusetts Town Head Back to Court in Case Alleging Verizon Cell Tower Is Making Them Sick

Residents of Massachusetts Town Head Back to Court in Case Alleging Verizon Cell Tower Is Making Them Sick
by Suzanne Burdick, Ph.D., childrenshealthdefense.org, March 25, 2025

A group of Massachusetts residents who alleged a Verizon tower near their homes is making them sick have appealed a county Superior Court’s ruling that they must seek relief from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), not the court system.

The residents of the “Shacktown” neighborhood of Pittsfield have been fighting for years to relocate or turn down the radiation levels of the Verizon cell tower installed in their neighborhood in March 2020.

“It’s been 1,694 days of being sick and displaced,” said plaintiff Courtney Gilardi, a mother who said her family became ill and had to move because of Verizon’s tower. “The kids just want to go home and be back in their own rooms in their own community without vomiting in their beds.”

Gilardi added:

“The injured neighbors still living in Shacktown want to live safely in their own houses without feeling dizzy, nauseous and without experiencing palpitations, afib, cardiac issues, migraines and other neurological symptoms.

France : 5G: Legal action continues against the ANSES report

5G: our legal action continues against the ANSES report
By : Phonegate Team • 8 Jan 2025

On January 6, 2025, the associations Phonegate Alert, Robin des Toits and the European Cancer and Environment Research Institute (ECERI) filed new claims with the Administrative Court of Melun as part of their legal action against the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES). The proceedings are aimed at challenging the public consultation, opinion and report on 5G published by the agency on April 20, 2021.

ANSES is playing for time with regard to 5G: two years of silence to benefit industry

• ANSES took two years to respond to the initial conclusions submitted by the associations, finally providing its response in August 2024
• The legal action is led by Lisa Arazi, a public law attorney 1, who states:

“In our reply brief, we pointed out the irregularity of the public consultation procedure carried out by ANSES concerning the expert report on 5G. This consultation, in disregard of the rules applicable to optional public consultations, excluded the comments submitted by Phonegate Alert, ECERI and Robin des Toits. We have also highlighted the consequences of this exclusion on the legality of both the report and the opinion formulated by this agency”.

United States: MA: Greenfield residents launch GoFundMe to fight cell tower proposal

Greenfield residents launch GoFundMe to fight cell tower proposal
By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI, recorder.com, 28 Nov. 2024

GREENFIELD — With the telecommunications company Viridi Wireless scheduled to present its application to build a 170-foot monopole cell tower on Newton Street before the Zoning Board of Appeals next month, a group of residents neighboring the site are pushing back on the project, citing concerns over health, safety and property value.

(Photo): Greenfield residents Michael Johnson and Karen Bergeron stand across from their home on Newton Street near where a cell tower has been proposed. STAFF PHOTO/PAUL FRANZ

Newton Street resident Laura Josephs posted a GoFundMe on Thursday, Nov. 21, with the goal of raising $5,000 for legal counsel to challenge Viridi’s application. As of Wednesday, the neighbors have raised $1,200 from six different donors, the most significant of which was a $1,000 donation from Elana Kirshenbaum, one of the organizers.

Switzerland: Collective objection with over 300 signatures: This senior citizen is fighting against the planned 5G antenna

Collective objection with over 300 signatures: This senior citizen is fighting against the planned 5G antenna 
by Soraya Sägesser, aargauerzeitung.ch, 15 Nov. 2024 - auto-translation

Karl Bernet

Swisscom is planning to build a 5G antenna on Schulstrasse in Sins. The planning application was open to the public until November 12. Four objections and one collective objection have now been received. Here's what happens next.

Anyone living within 703.79 meters of the antenna is entitled to lodge an objection. Bernet requested a map from the municipality so that he could mark all properties, i.e. residents entitled to object. He recently told the Anzeiger Oberfreiamt newspaper. He himself lives in the Bachtalmühle and therefore only 150 meters away from the planned antenna.

He was out and about every day with the map and signature forms and spoke to the people concerned. “Some of these people didn't even know that a 5G antenna was being planned,” Bernet told the ‘Anzeiger Oberfreiamt’ newspaper. He noticed that there was a great willingness to sign.

Cell Phone Dangers Prompt FOIA Requests - FOIAengine: Questions from Siri & Glimstad Point to Possible Litigation

Cell Phone Dangers Prompt FOIA Requests -
FOIAengine: Questions from Siri & Glimstad Point to Possible Litigation
by David Nayer, lawstreetmedia.com, 23 October 2024

Does radiation from cell phones and cell towers affect human health? There has long been controversy around this question, which the federal government has tried to put to rest by issuing findings that there is no clear evidence of a health impact and by refuting earlier studies that found that biological changes associated with radiofrequency radiation. But, as recent Freedom of Information Act requests demonstrate, the controversy isn’t going away.

According to PoliScio Analytics’ competitive-intelligence database FOIAengine, which tracks FOIA requests in as close to real-time as their availability allows, 20 cell phone and cell tower radiation requests have been submitted to the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institute of Health since January of 2021.

United States: Children's Health Defense Launches Stop 5G Initiative to Help Communities Challenge Cell Towers

CHD Launches Stop 5G Initiative to Help Communities Challenge Cell Towers

Children’s Health Defense has launched Stop 5G, a new initiative to empower communities to effectively oppose the installation of cell towers and small cells in their neighborhoods.
by Children’s Health Defense EMR & Wireless Team

Children’s Health Defense (CHD) has launched the Stop 5G: Empowering Citizens to Protect their Community Initiative, a step-by-step guide communities can follow to mount an effective defense against proposed and existing cell towers in their neighborhoods.

The initiative is designed to help people take action on their own or with the support of CHD’s Stop5G Community Empowerment Consulting service, which offers legal representation, expert consultation and advocacy services through our partnership with attorney W. Scott McCollough, lead counsel for CHD’s EMR & Wireless program.

Phonegate: Quebec Court of Appeal Confirms Class Action Against Apple and Samsung

Phonegate: Quebec Court of Appeal Confirms Class Action Against Apple and Samsung

By : Phonegate Team • 27 Sep 2024

On September 18, 2024, the Quebec Court of Appeal upheld the first instance judgment of September 22, 2022, authorizing the class action initiated in 2019 against Apple and Samsung. This action concerns allegations of failures to inform users and potential health risks related to their mobile phones. This decision poses a real financial and reputational risk for both manufacturers!

Key points of the decision

• Rejection of Apple and Samsung‘s appeals requesting complete dismissal of the action
• Rejection of the plaintiffs’ incidental appeal seeking to expand the scope of the action
• Upholding of the initial judgment that had reduced the extent of the class action

A class action related to the Phonegate scandal

United States: FCC Knew Phones Exceeded Radiation Limits, Hid Info From Public and Courts

'FCC testing showed popular cellphone brands exceeded the agency’s safety limits for human exposure to wireless radiation, but the agency hid the information from the public and the courts, according to data obtained by the Environmental Health Trust...'

FCC Knew Phones Exceeded Radiation Limits, Hid Info From Public and Courts
By Suzanne Burdick, Ph.D., childrenshealthdefense.org, 24 April 2024

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) knew for years that certain popular smartphones exceeded the agency’s safety limits for human exposure to wireless radiation when held close to the body, according to data obtained by the Environmental Health Trust (EHT) via Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.

Rather than going public with the testing results, the FCC hid them — even when important lawsuits concerning cellphone radiation’s impact on people’s health were underway.

The outcome of such lawsuits might have been different, had the agency been honest about what it knew, said W. Scott McCollough, lead litigator for Children’s Health Defense’s (CHD) Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR) & Wireless cases. McCollough called the FCC’s actions “scandalous.”

California: ‘Huge Win’: Court Rules Big Telecom Must Comply With State Environmental Laws

‘Huge Win’: Court Rules Big Telecom Must Comply With State Environmental Laws
By Suzanne Burdick, Ph.D., childrenshealthdefense.org, 4 April 2024

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge last week ruled that federal law does not preempt California’s state environmental law, which requires environmental impact reviews before telecom companies can apply for permits to build new wireless infrastructure on scenic highways and historic sites.

Los Angeles County officials must comply with state environmental law when issuing permits for new wireless infrastructures, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge ruled.

The ruling is a win for Children’s Health Defense (CHD) and a coalition of community and environmental groups in a historic case challenging the fast-tracked proliferation of wireless infrastructure in Los Angeles County.

W. Scott McCollough, lead attorney for the plaintiffs, said in a press release, “The court’s ruling is a huge win in the battle against unfettered proliferation of wireless because of the known risks to the environment and people’s health.”

Woman Living Near Cell Tower Diagnosed With 51 Strokes

Exclusive: Woman Living Near Cell Tower Diagnosed With 51 Strokes
By Suzanne Burdick, Ph.D., childrenshealthdefense.org, 26 Feb. 2024, updated 27 Feb. 2024

In an interview with The Defender, Marcia Haller detailed how her life dramatically changed when a cell tower 900 feet from her home was “upgraded.” Haller notified the telecom companies operating the tower that she plans to sue under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

In 2007, Marcia and Jason Haller — high school sweethearts who met in Duluth, Minnesota — bought their dream property north of Duluth to peacefully live close to nature and Marcia’s family.

Little did they know then that American Towers, AT&T and T-Mobile would soon build a cell tower just 900 feet from their home — a tower that would later forever change Marcia’s life as she knew it.

Nearly immediately after the cell tower was “upgraded” in 2019, Marcia became disabled from the intense levels of radiofrequency (RF) radiation emitted by the tower.

Since then, she has suffered 51 strokes, vision loss, hearing loss, headaches, sleep disruption, chronic fatigue and cognitive impairment. She experiences ongoing issues with balance, orientation and mobility.

Barbados: US group renowned for cell tower opposition backs residents

US group renowned for cell tower opposition backs residents
by Emmanuel Joseph, barbadostoday.bb, February 24, 2024

A St James village’s battle to rid itself of a recently erected cell phone tower in its midst notched up Friday as it enlisted the support of an American campaign group that argues cell phones, wireless broadband and other high-frequency radio signals pose a health risk.

The non-profit Environmental Health Trust (EHT), based in the northern American state of Wyoming has emerged to back the people of Olive Lodge, Holders Hill, who are planning to ask the High Court to issue an injunction to block any further work and eventually have the structure removed. The tower was erected around mid-January by telecommunications firm Digicel. The community was told the tower was temporary.

Switzerland: 5G critics file complaints in 127 Bernese municipalities

5G critics file complaints in 127 Bernese municipalities
derbund.ch, 20 February 2024 - auto-translation

386 antennas are being used illegally, claim two associations and one company. And are therefore filing complaints with the building police everywhere.

One of the offending installations: the antenna on the roof of the Berner Zeitung and "Bund" newspapers. Photo: Raphael Moser

In the canton of Bern, 127 municipalities where 5G mobile phone antennas are located are facing complaints from the building police. The complaints were submitted by the WIR and Gigaherz associations, which are critical of mobile communications, and Laubscher plannetzwerk GmbH from Büren an der Aare.

They have been warning about radiation exposure from mobile phone antennas for some time. They are now targeting those antennas where the transmission power has been increased without a planning application or public publication. This was announced by the three organizations on Tuesday.

California: LA County Residents Will Have to Battle Wireless Expansion ‘Tower by Tower,’ but Judge Rules Against County on Key Environmental Claims

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge ruled on Wednesday that most claims will proceed in a lawsuit alleging county ordinances allow uncontrolled wireless expansion without environmental review or public input, but struck down a key argument seeking to give residents more say over cell tower build-out near their homes.

LA County Residents Will Have to Battle Wireless Expansion ‘Tower by Tower,’ but Judge Rules Against County on Key Environmental Claims
By Suzanne Burdick, Ph.D., childrenshealthdefense.org, 15 February 2024

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge delivered a split decision Wednesday in a lawsuit seeking to halt the fast-tracked proliferation of wireless infrastructure without environmental review and without residents’ right to appeal.

In his ruling, Judge James C. Chalfant dismissed claims that the ordinances violate due process rights by preventing residents from contesting individual wireless project permits near their homes. He also dismissed a minor claim about a bureaucratic procedure.

However, he allowed pivotal allegations that the county is illegally sidestepping state environmental law through its new rules for approving wireless infrastructure projects.

Because the ruling bars a sweeping countywide due process challenge, the plaintiffs say it places an impossible burden on individuals to fund separate cases for each wireless facility installed near their properties without notice.

Switzerland: Brig: 5G antenna in densely populated area thwarted by 81 objections

David against Goliath... A lot can be achieved by joining forces!

Brig: 5G antenna in densely populated area thwarted by 81 objections

https://schutz-vor-strahlung.ch/ - Deepl translation

In the "Obri Glismatte" area, in a densely populated residential area in the immediate vicinity of school buildings, daycare centers and sports facilities, Swisscom wanted to erect a five-meter mast with a 5G antenna on a flat roof.

There were 81 objections to the planning application with a total of 777 signatures. As a result, the Brig-Glis municipal council refused Swisscom planning permission on 22 June 2021, as the antenna's installation limit value was not complied with according to the site data sheet. "The council does not consider it appropriate to erect a mobile phone antenna in this area."

United States: Children's Health Defense Files First in Series of Lawsuits Seeking Disability Accommodation for People Injured by RF Radiation from Cell Towers

CHD Files First in Series of Lawsuits Seeking Disability Accommodation for People Injured by RF Radiation from Cell Towers
by JAY W. BELLE ISLE, legalreader.com, January 5, 2024

According to the complaint, Mr. Allen has a disability as defined in the ADA. His condition is exacerbated by RF radiation emitted from cell towers.

Washington, D.C. — Children’s Health Defense’s (CHD) lead Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR) and Wireless litigator Scott W. McCollough filed a complaint today against Verizon and other wireless companies on behalf of disabled plaintiff Henry “Hank” Allen. The complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the District of Idaho Southern Division, is the first in a series of strategic cases seeking the removal or modification of cell towers in the vicinity of the homes of individuals disabled by radiofrequency (RF) radiation, in order to provide reasonable accommodation or modifications as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

United States: CHD Funds Lawsuit on Behalf of Man Who Says Verizon Cell Tower Triggered Life-Threatening Cardiac Events

CHD Funds Lawsuit on Behalf of Man Who Says Verizon Cell Tower Triggered Life-Threatening Cardiac Events

The lawsuit, filed today, could set an important legal precedent that would help people like Henry “Hank” Allen, who have electromagnetic sensitivity, fight back against cell towers being placed near their homes.
By Suzanne Burdick, Ph.D.Brenda Baletti, Ph.D., childrenshealthdefense.org, 12 Dec. 2023

An Idaho man alleging the radiofrequency radiation emitted by a cell tower installed next to his home triggered more than 15 episodes of atrial fibrillation today sued Verizon and other companies involved in the operation of the tower.

Henry “Hank” Allen, age 53, said his electromagnetic sensitivity (EMS) makes him vulnerable to life-threatening cardiac episodes, which began in April 2021, when Verizon activated the tower.

The lawsuit, funded by Children’s Health Defense (CHD) and filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho Southern Division, could set an important legal precedent that would help others with EMS who want to fight back against having a cell tower placed near where they live.