Tech giants Apple and Samsung have been slapped with class action lawsuits in the US over potential damages arising out of harmful radio frequency (RF) exposure. The developments come just a couple of days after a Chicago Tribune investigation found that many smartphones, including some relatively-recent iPhones and Galaxy handsets, do not comply with radio frequency emissions standards.
Filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, the lawsuit claims RF radiation emitted from iPhones and Samsung Galaxy devices ‘exceed legal limits set forth by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)’. According to Apple Insider, 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.
According to the lawsuit: “Numerous recent scientific publications, supported by hundreds of scientists worldwide, have shown that RF radiation exposure affects living organisms at levels well below most international and national guidelines … Effects include increased cancer risk, cellular stress, increase in harmful free radicals, genetic damages, structural and functional changes of the reproductive system, learning and memory deficits, neurological disorders and negative impacts on general well-being in humans”.
Apple has disputed the findings, saying that The Tribune did not follow standard procedures to record the SAR (Specific Absorption Rate) values. According to the company, “After careful review and subsequent validation of all iPhone models tested in the (Tribune) report, we confirmed we are in compliance and meet all applicable exposure guidelines and limits. All iPhone models, including iPhone 7, are fully certified by the FCC and in every other country where iPhone is sold”.
Samsung was yet to react to the developments.
