15th June 2026
The Government Acts on Social Media Harm But Children’s Wireless Radiation Exposure Remains Ignored
The UK Government is finally recognising that unlimited social media access can harm children. The EM Radiation Research Trust (RRT) welcomes serious efforts to address online harms, including addictive algorithms, cyberbullying, harmful content, online exploitation, and sleep disruption.
This follows the Government’s landmark announcement on social media restrictions for under-16s, aimed at “giving kids their childhood back”: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/social-media-to-be-banned-for-under-16s-in-landmark-government-move-to-givekids-their-childhood-back
However, while policy attention is focused on the psychological and behavioural impacts of social media, there remains a very important issue that continues to be largely absent from public debate. This is children’s lifelong exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF EMF) from smartphones, tablets, Wi Fi networks, wireless wearables, and telecommunications infrastructure.
As we reflected in our recent tribute marking the 11th anniversary of Jenny Fry’s death, children’s wellbeing can be affected by multiple aspects of the digital environment. Jenny’s family reported that she suffered from electrohypersensitivity (EHS). Her story remains a reminder of the importance of placing children’s health, safety, and wellbeing at the centre of public policy. Read More: https://radiationresearch.org/11-years-on-remembering-jenny-fry-and-the-duty-to-protect-children-in-a-wireless-world/
Jenny’s story highlights the need for policymakers to consider the full spectrum of reported harms associated with children’s interaction with modern technologies, not only online content and behaviour but also the physical environments and wireless systems through which those technologies operate.
Children are not simply small adults. One reason these concerns continue to be raised is that children’s bodies and nervous systems are still developing, and scientific studies have demonstrated that they absorb radiofrequency radiation differently from adults. Dosimetric modelling referenced in the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Monograph on Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Fields reported that children experience higher absorption levels in certain tissues and organs than adults, including parts of the brain and skull bone marrow.
Further information, including evidence discussed in the IARC Monograph and research indicating that children may absorb up to ten times more radiofrequency radiation in certain tissues than adults, can be found in the EM Radiation Research Trust article, “Up to 10x More Radiation: Are Our Children the Unseen Victims of Wireless Technology?”: https://radiationresearch.org/up-to-10x-more-radiation-are-our-children-the-unseen-victims-of-wireless-technology/
As policymakers consider measures to reduce online harms, the EM Radiation Research Trust believes urgent attention must also be given to reducing unnecessary wireless radiation exposures and applying the Precautionary Principle, to protect current and future generations and the environment as a whole.
For more than two decades, scientists, medical professionals, and public health advocates have called for a precautionary approach to children’s exposure to wireless technologies. These concerns remain insufficiently reflected in current policy discussions. In our recent written evidence to the UK Parliament (HAR1953), submitted to the Home Affairs Select Committee on the proposed digital ID system, we highlighted evidence and peer reviewed literature concerning privacy, data security, equality, and public health implications of infrastructure that relies on wireless technologies and devices emitting radiofrequency electromagnetic fields.
Ref: https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/145903/html/
That submission noted that digital ID systems typically require interaction with electronic devices that may emit RF EMF radiation, and raised concerns regarding impacts on vulnerable groups, including users of Active Implantable Medical Devices and individuals reporting electromagnetic sensitivity. It also referenced evidence discussed in the submission regarding reported biological effects, legal obligations under the Equality Act 2010, and case law confirming that credible health concerns relating to electromagnetic exposure cannot be dismissed solely on the basis of ICNIRP compliance. The submission further highlighted concerns regarding centralisation of personal data and the risk of function creep.
The proposed measures, including raising the minimum age for social media access to 16, restricting late night use, and introducing stronger age verification systems, would represent one of the most significant interventions in childhood technology policy for a generation.
The RRT supports proportionate and effective measures to protect children. However, child protection must not become a pathway toward unnecessary expansion of surveillance, erosion of privacy, or loss of civil liberties. Safeguarding children and protecting fundamental rights must proceed together.
One practical and precautionary approach worthy of consideration is restricting smartphone access for children under the age of 16, while allowing the use of basic mobile phones designed primarily for calls and essential communication. Such devices could be limited to a small number of approved contacts, including parents, guardians, and emergency services. This would reduce exposure to social media harms, excessive screen time, and unnecessary wireless exposure, while still preserving safety and communication.
In addition, public health authorities have previously advised precautionary use of mobile phones, including keeping calls short and using phones for essential purposes only. A consistent precautionary approach would also include clear guidance encouraging users to switch off devices when not in use and to keep them away from the body, particularly for children, reflecting long standing risk reduction principles applied in other areas of public health.
Just as society restricts children’s access to alcohol and tobacco, responsibility for guiding and protecting young people should remain primarily with parents, families, teachers, and communities.
We also note that some countries have adopted precautionary approaches regarding mobile phone use by children. For example, the Russian National Committee on No-Ionizing Radiation Protection has issued precautionary guidance and warning labels for wireless devices, including mobile phones and Wi Fi routers. These materials include examples of warning labels intended for use on mobile devices and wireless equipment, advising caution in use by children and pregnant women, reflecting a precautionary approach to wireless radiation.
Russian Warning Labels
Figure 1: Example precautionary label for mobile phone
Figure 2: Example precautionary label for Wi Fi router or wireless access point
Public Action and Engagement
The EM Radiation Research Trust has written directly to the Prime Minister, Rt Hon Keir Starmer MP, as well as to senior government ministers, opposition leaders, and relevant public officials to raise these concerns formally at the highest level.
We are now encouraging members of the public, parents, grandparents, teachers, healthcare professionals, and concerned citizens to do the same. Direct correspondence with elected representatives remains one of the most effective ways to ensure these issues receive proper scrutiny.
A copy of our formal letter to the Prime Minister and cross-party parliamentary and regulatory figures is included below for public reference.
We therefore urge policymakers to ensure that:
- Public health considerations relating to exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields.
- Privacy, data security, and safeguards against misuse or unauthorised surveillance.
- Equality of access, including accommodations for vulnerable individuals.
- The importance of maintaining parental responsibility for children’s access to technology, consistent with established approaches to alcohol, tobacco, and other age-restricted products, rather than unnecessary substitution of parental authority by centralised state control. Government policy should support parental authority rather than replace it.
- The need to ensure that public health policy reflects the scientific evidence base on radiofrequency electromagnetic fields, including independent research reporting biological effects at exposure levels below current international guidelines, and consideration of more precautionary exposure limits proposed in peer-reviewed scientific literature and international research.
Protecting children and protecting fundamental freedoms are not mutually exclusive objectives. Both must be upheld.
As Parliament considers these proposals, we call for an honest, balanced and evidence based discussion, one that addresses not only what children see online, but also the technologies through which that content is delivered, the long-term implications for public health, and the fundamental rights to privacy, autonomy and personal freedom.
Meaningful change happens when elected representatives hear directly from the people they serve.
Signed
Eileen O’Connor
Director & Co-founder
EM Radiation Research Trust
Brian Stein CBE
Chairman
EM Radiation Research Trust
Alasdair Philips
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2713-2279
Member, International Commission on the Biological Effects of Electromagnetic Fields
Advisor, EM Radiation Research Trust
Denis L. Henshaw BSc PhD
Fellow, Collegium Ramazzini
Emeritus Professor of Human Radiation Effects
Atmospheric Chemistry Group, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol
Former Scientific Director, Children with Cancer UK
http://www.childrenwithcancer.org.uk
Advisor, EM Radiation Research Trust
