Disinformation About 5G Threatens Rollout, GSMA Panelists Say

Attacks against 5G infrastructure and disinformation on health risks (see 2005150022) imperil rollout of services needed to ensure Europe's recovery from the pandemic, speakers said at a Wednesday webinar hosted by GSMA and the European Telecommunications Network Operators' Association. 5G is the "missing link" between Europe's digital strategy and its environmental plans, but misinformation risks significantly delaying the deployment, said ETNO Director General Lise Fuhr. There have been about 142 site attacks in 10 EU countries and the U.K., which had the most attacks, said GSMA Head-Europe Afke Schaart. It's not just posting misinformation; it has become more mainstream, with a global 5G protest planned for Saturday, she said. The impact includes some countries postponing spectrum auctions, Schaart said. One way to fight back might be for local politicians to get involved in decisions on deploying 5G, said Member of European Parliament Miapetra Kumpula-Natri, of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats and Finland. Local authorities should be given information about the technology so citizens can trust their decisions on installations. She urged governments planning 5G spectrum allocations to focus on coverage rather than revenue to allow operators to build out. Deployment has challenges, said Susana Solis Perez, of the Renew Europe Group and Spain. These include lack of demand for 5G services, environmental issues, electromagnetic frequency (EMF) considerations, network security and the risk of widening the digital divide. There's no time to waste in building infrastructure in response to COVID-19, she said. EU's e-commerce directive is "too weak" to attack disinformation, said Lisa Felton, Vodafone Group head-data, services and consumer regulation. The upcoming EC proposal for a digital services act should include legal requirements for actions online platforms must take in response to disinformation if they don't want to lose safe harbor liability protections, she said. The EC believes public health protection is paramount, and recommends maximum EMF exposure limits with wide safety margins based on scientific data, said Andreas Geiss, DG Connect head of unit-spectrum policy. The EC wants to focus debate on those facts and evidence, seeking to inform people about EMF and the benefits of 5G, he said. There's little evidence RF radiation causes cancer, affects fertility, results in changes to development, cognition or behavior, harms the immune systems or causes electrohypersensitivity, said Frank de Vocht, University of Bristol senior academic in epidemiological and public health. The idea that 5G affects the immune system is the basis for 5G/COVID-19 theories "haunting" social media, but there's no plausible theory on how millimeter waves could do that, he said.