California: Berkeley: Court Upholds City's Right to Warn Consumers about Phone Radiation

Court upholds city's right to warn consumers about phone radiation
by CORINNE REICHERT, cnet.com, 2 July 2019

Berkeley is allowed to require phone retailers to warn people about radiation risks in carrying phones in pockets and bras.

Berkeley's right to warn consumers about cell
phone radiation has been upheld in court.
Angela Lang/CNET

Wireless association CTIA has failed again to get the City of Berkeley to stop warning people that using a cell phone could expose them to radiation. As part of the long-running debate over health concerns in using mobile phones, Berkeley's "Right to Know" ordinance, which came into effect in 2016, was upheld by a court Tuesday.

Berkeley had been enforcing a city ordinance that required phone retailers to inform prospective buyers that carrying phones in certain ways, like in pants pockets or bras, could cause them to exceed the FCC's guidelines for radio frequency radiation maximum exposure. CTIA had argued that this violated the First Amendment, blocking retailers' freedom of speech by requiring them to post "inflammatory" messages.

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