Public safety concerns involving electromagnetic (EMF) radiation and mobile devices are very diverse in scope. Some concerns deal with problems from interacting with your devices, like distracted driving and distracted walking leading to accidents and health costs. Others deal directly with the EMF signals being emitted from your phone. Using wireless signals to transmit information, such as your location, passwords, private photos and videos, or classified documents, doesn’t come without risk.

Wireless data can be hacked into and digital theft is growing as more and more people store their information in data clouds. This can create many problems, both in your personal life and for governments and businesses, making this a big public safety concern. Your phone, and subsequently your location, is constantly being tracked, and your GPS chip in your phone can’t really be turned off. Engineering researchers at Princeton University discovered that other sensors in the hardware can still be used to find and track your phone. Connecting to public WiFi is also a way people can be tracked. Nordstrom came under fire in 2013 when it was made known that it tracked shoppers when they connected to the store’s public WiFi. 5G uses higher frequencies that can create even more data security problems.

Talking about 5G, it uses the same frequencies used by radar to forecast weather patterns. One study found that the signals from the 5G frequency bands could leak into the band used by weather sensors on satellites that measure the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere and affect weather forecasting and predictions. Based on modeling, 5G leakage power of -15 to -20 decibel Watts affected the accuracy of forecasting of precipitation and ground temperatures. This could be significant, especially as more volatile weather patterns emerge as a result of climate change.