Apple, Samsung sued in the US over its smartphones emitting harmful radiation: Report

Apple and Samsung are being sued in the US over the fact that their smartphones emit harmful radiations. This class-action suit was filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California on Friday (23 July).As per Apple Insider, the suit claimed that "the RF (Radio Frequency) radiation emitted from smartphone devices designed and manufactured by Apple and Samsung exceed legal limits set forth by the Federal Communications Commission".The complaint also mentions that exposure from devices including iPhone 7, iPhone 8, iPhone X and recent Galaxy smartphone models exceeded the set limits.Talking about the harmful effects of these radiations, the complaint reveals that it can cause 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.(Also read: Radiation from OnePlus and Xiaomi phones isn't going to turn you into a mutant)[caption id="attachment_7225681" align="alignnone" width="1024"]

The suit claims that exposure from devices including iPhone 7, iPhone 8, iPhone X and recent Galaxy smartphone models exceeded the set limits. Image: Reuters[/caption]As per the suit, the company misled customers by not telling them about the potential ill effects from iPhone's harmful RF exposure.As per tests run by Chicago Tribune, "radio-frequency radiation exposure from the iPhone 7 exceeds the legal safety limit and is more than double to what they have reported to federal regulators by their own testings.As a response to this, Apple told Tribune in a statement that "the test results given by Tribune were inaccurate due to the test setup not being in accordance with procedures necessary to properly assess the iPhone models.”On the other hand, Samsung's Galaxy S8, Galaxy S9, and Galaxy J3 were also tested by Tribune where when kept 10 mm-15 mm (the distance set by FCC) from the body, were measured to be under the safety limit. But when kept 2mm from the body, the RF exposure measured above the set limit.Samsung also released a statement on the same, in which it said, "Samsung devices sold in the United States comply with FCC regulations. Our devices are tested according to the same test protocols that are used across the industry.”