San Francisco to Regulate Cellphone Radiation
June 10, 2010: Finding the "government agencies and scientific bodies in the European Union (EU) and Israel have recognized the potential harm of long-term exposure to radiation emitted from cell phones and, as a result, have issued warnings about their use, especially their use by children," San Francisco's Board of Supervisors adopted an ordinance that requires retailers to disclose the Specific Absorption Rate ("SAR") of cell phone devices.
The ordinance's logic is that "[t]he SAR values for different makes and models of cell phones differ widely, but consumers are not able to make informed purchasing decisions because there is no requirement that the retailer provide the applicable SAR values to the consumer at the point when the consumer is deciding between various makes and models."
Accordingly, the ordinance providces that "[n]o retailer within the City may sell or lease. or offer to sell or lease. any cell phone to the public without disclosing the SAR value for that phone."
The ordinance's logic is that "[t]he SAR values for different makes and models of cell phones differ widely, but consumers are not able to make informed purchasing decisions because there is no requirement that the retailer provide the applicable SAR values to the consumer at the point when the consumer is deciding between various makes and models."
Accordingly, the ordinance providces that "[n]o retailer within the City may sell or lease. or offer to sell or lease. any cell phone to the public without disclosing the SAR value for that phone."
Posted by Barak Orbach at Thursday, June 10. 2010 
Categories: Mandatory Disclosure, Imperfect Information, Paternalism
Tags: Cellphone Radiation
Categories: Mandatory Disclosure, Imperfect Information, Paternalism
Tags: Cellphone Radiation
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