DEADLINE EXTENDED – Action Alert: Demand the FCC Recognize Electromagnetic Sensitivity (EMS) and Prioritize #FiberFirst
Tell the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to recognize Electromagnetic Sensitivity (EMS) as a legitimate health condition, accommodate those disabled by it and demand #FiberFirst.
With this new rule, the FCC wants to ensure everyone has access to wireless high-speed internet. Despite mounting evidence that radiofrequency (RF) radiation from wireless technology is harmful to people and the environment, the FCC is charging forward.
After receiving hundreds of comments urging the FCC to recognize the EMS-disabled community and prioritize fiber technology in its rulemaking process, the FCC has done neither. We need your help to let them know this is unacceptable!
Before April 20, we need to repeat our concerns to the FCC about the risks and harms of wireless technology on our children and vulnerable populations by submitting comments in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking phase. We must also share these concerns with our elected officials, who must hold government agencies accountable for their decisions.
Take action by completing the form and submitting official comments.
What is EMS?
Prevalence estimates indicate that up to 30% of the population is affected by EMS — a condition where radiofrequency radiation emitted from smartphones, WiFi, cell towers, smart meters, etc., produces adverse health effects or worsening of existing health conditions. Symptoms of EMS:
- Headaches
- Cognitive impairment
- Disorientation
- Sleep disruption
- Fatigue
- Tinnitus (ringing in the ears)
- Vertigo
- Nausea
- Skin rashes
- Behavioral problems
- Mood swings
- Anxiety
- Depression
We Must Advocate for Disability Rights
The EMS community is large in number but often cannot attend public policy and zoning meetings due to wireless exposure.
Those with severe symptoms are functionally excluded from public participation, and those with nearby wireless facilities, such as cell towers, cannot even take refuge in their homes.
What We Are Proposing
- The FCC should prioritize “fiber to the premises (FTTP)” solutions. FTTP is the installation of optical fiber directly to individual homes, multi-dwelling units, schools, municipal buildings and businesses to provide high-speed broadband access. The FCC should rely on fixed wireless only when fully wired is technically impossible. The main purpose of mobile wireless is to support mobility, not to be a substitute for wired fixed arrangements.
- Allow equal access to broadband in a form that does not threaten or worsen the health and well-being of RF-sensitive individuals, especially those with EMS disabilities. Individuals who cannot be around RF must have the ability, as a matter of right, to obtain wired (fiber-based) broadband.
- Provide RF-free “safe zones” in public spaces and buildings to ensure inclusion in public life.
What You Can Do
- Complete the form below to email FCC committee decision-makers and your federal elected representatives.
- Use our customizable prepared response (at the bottom of this page) or write your own and submit a comment directly to the FCC.
If the form below does not appear, use this page.
Customizable Prepared Response
Instructions: Select and copy the text below, open the FCC comment page and paste the text in the “Brief Comments Field”.
Electromagnetic Sensitivity (EMS) is the name given by the U.S. Access Board to the condition whereby individuals exposed to radiofrequency (RF) radiation from smartphones, WiFi, cell towers, smart meters and other wireless devices experience adverse health effects or worsening of existing health conditions.
Prevalence estimates indicate that up to 30% of the population suffers from some form of EMS. It is past time that EMS is recognized and addressed.
I applaud the FCC’s initial effort and fully support the emphasis on “harms experienced by historically excluded and marginalized communities” and the desire for “meaningful policy reforms and systems improvements, as well as a framework for collaborative action to extend digital opportunity to everyone.” However, I also support the commission’s enunciated goals to advance “equity in the provision of and access to digital communication services and products for all people of the United States, without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, or disability.”
I believe that forcing exposure – even as part of a genuine effort to afford broadband access – is itself a form of discrimination as a matter of law. More importantly, it is fundamentally inequitable because it leads to great harm: people with severe symptoms are functionally excluded from public participation since almost all public spaces are flooded with RF, and those with wireless facilities nearby cannot even take refuge in their homes.
I urge you to:
- Prioritize “fiber to the premises (FTTP)” solutions. The goal is to bring fiber as close to the user as possible, to use a copper tail for short distances where necessary, and to resort to wireless technology as a last resort.
- Allow equal access to broadband in a form that does not threaten or worsen the health and well-being of RF-sensitive individuals, especially those with EMS disabilities. Individuals who cannot be around RF must have the ability, as a matter of right, to obtain wired (fiber-based) broadband.
- Provide RF-free “safe zones” in public spaces and buildings to ensure inclusion in public life.
I request that you prioritize #FiberFirst and halt the expansion of wireless services to protect the EMS-disabled.
The post DEADLINE EXTENDED – Action Alert: Demand the FCC Recognize Electromagnetic Sensitivity (EMS) and Prioritize #FiberFirst appeared first on Children's Health Defense.
© 07 Mar 2023 Children’s Health Defense, Inc. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of Children’s Health Defense, Inc. Want to learn more from Children’s Health Defense? Sign up for free news and updates from Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and the Children’s Health Defense. Your donation will help to support us in our efforts.
