Australian public's confidence in 5G 'shaken' by misinformation campaign
Federal parliamentary committee examining rollout says fears over network are being exploited, particularly on social media
Work being carried out on a mobile network tower in Sydney in March. Federal MPs have reported being ‘bombarded’ with letters complaining about the 5G rollout. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAP
Public confidence in the planned 5G network has been significantly undermined by a strong misinformation campaign, an Australian parliamentary committee has admitted.
The House of Representatives committee was established last year to examine the plans for 5G networks in Australia, currently under construction by Telstra, Optus and Vodafone, but the committee received hundreds of submissions from members of the public and groups concerned about perceived health issues associated with 5G networks.
MPs have also reported being “bombarded” with letters complaining about the rollout of 5G.
At hearings held by the committee, those opposed to 5G argued that so-called small cells for the network on every street would make it impossible for them to avoid being “exposed” to 5G, and that rollouts should be stopped until more research was done into the health effects of 5G.
Ten arrested and police officer injured at protest against Victoria’s Covid-19 lockdown laws
Read more https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/may/10/ten-arrested-and-police-officer-injured-at-protest-against-victorias-covid-19-lockdown-laws
In the report tabled in parliament on Tuesday evening, the committee, chaired by Nationals MP David Gillespie, expressed concern about 5G misinformation.
“Community confidence in 5G has been shaken by extensive misinformation preying on the fears of the public spread via the internet, and presented as facts, particularly through social media,” the report said.
“The communication of the reality of 5G has been neglected, allowing fears over health and safety, the technology involved and the application of 5G to take hold. Misinformation has filled the vacuum and public confidence in 5G has been shaken.”
The report goes into significant detail to address some of the concerns put forward by those opposed to 5G, including pointing out that the impact of non-ionising radiation has been heavily researched. Initially 5G will operate in the same spectrum band as 4G, and although it will move to higher frequencies in a few years, the report notes “higher frequencies do not mean higher exposure levels”.
The report also counters several of the reports provided by opponents of 5G on the alleged health impacts.
“Unfortunately, a vast amount of misinformation about the safety and impact of 5G is out there,” the committee said.
“Perhaps some confusion comes from the new spectrum bands 5G will use. The committee heard that ‘higher frequency does not mean higher power’, and that, in fact, devices will operate at a lower power due to focusing the 5G signal only to where it is required and the increased number of antennae, which means that users will have less exposure than under previous generations of mobile technology.
“The committee has been assured that 5G is safe.”
In December last year, the federal communications minister, Paul Fletcher, announced $9m in funding to address misinformation about the health impact of telecommunications networks, including more research and public education.
The committee has made several recommendations, including getting the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (Arpansa) to better consult with members of the public about concerns over electromagnetic radiation, and the committee supported the federal government’s education campaign funding.
The report was finalised in March before misinformation began spreading online claiming either 5G was responsible for coronavirus, due to the construction of 5G networks in Wuhan, or for “poisoning cells” that created coronavirus.
The misinformation has been widely spread on Facebook, in particular – a video went viral where a man claiming to be a former Vodafone executive warned the pandemic was a global plot to install 5G and track the population through vaccines.
In reality, the Guardian revealed, the voice on the tape making the baseless claims is an evangelical pastor who had only worked in sales for Vodafone for less than a year in 2014.
Several mobile towers in the UK have been attacked by people as a result of the misinformation, and telecoms workers have reported being harassed by members of the public.
Facebook has since said it is taking “aggressive steps” to remove coronavirus-related misinformation, including linking it to 5G, or encouraging attacks on phone towers.
In Australia, a Nazi flag with #COVID19 written on it was tied to two Chinese flags on a mobile tower in regional Victoria in April.
Last weekend, anti-5G protesters joined anti-lockdown protesters in small protests in Sydney and Melbourne.
The Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association chief executive, Chris Althaus, told Guardian Australia the committee’s hearings made the mobile lobby group realise misinformation had taken hold.
“We realised that there’s a much stronger communications role that we need to play, and we see a role for government in this as well and they have responded to that call. So there’s a lot more to do, and we’re very, very active on doing it.”
Part of the problem, he said, was for most people they had heard about 5G but had not seen how it works.
“Unfortunately, like in a lot of industries with a high technology focus, the latest generation and discussion about the latest generation tends to get out well ahead of its arrival into the market.
“People have gotten used to hearing about it but they haven’t seen it, so we’ve got to do a stronger job now that 5G is coming to market. We’ve got to do a much better job of explaining the opportunities that 5G is going to bring.”
Public confidence in the planned 5G network has been significantly undermined by a strong misinformation campaign, an Australian parliamentary committee has admitted.
The House of Representatives committee was established last year to examine the plans for 5G networks in Australia, currently under construction by Telstra, Optus and Vodafone, but the committee received hundreds of submissions from members of the public and groups concerned about perceived health issues associated with 5G networks.
MPs have also reported being “bombarded” with letters complaining about the rollout of 5G.
At hearings held by the committee, those opposed to 5G argued that so-called small cells for the network on every street would make it impossible for them to avoid being “exposed” to 5G, and that rollouts should be stopped until more research was done into the health effects of 5G.
Ten arrested and police officer injured at protest against Victoria’s Covid-19 lockdown laws
Read more https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/may/10/ten-arrested-and-police-officer-injured-at-protest-against-victorias-covid-19-lockdown-laws
In the report tabled in parliament on Tuesday evening, the committee, chaired by Nationals MP David Gillespie, expressed concern about 5G misinformation.
“Community confidence in 5G has been shaken by extensive misinformation preying on the fears of the public spread via the internet, and presented as facts, particularly through social media,” the report said.
“The communication of the reality of 5G has been neglected, allowing fears over health and safety, the technology involved and the application of 5G to take hold. Misinformation has filled the vacuum and public confidence in 5G has been shaken.”
The report goes into significant detail to address some of the concerns put forward by those opposed to 5G, including pointing out that the impact of non-ionising radiation has been heavily researched. Initially 5G will operate in the same spectrum band as 4G, and although it will move to higher frequencies in a few years, the report notes “higher frequencies do not mean higher exposure levels”.
The report also counters several of the reports provided by opponents of 5G on the alleged health impacts.
“Unfortunately, a vast amount of misinformation about the safety and impact of 5G is out there,” the committee said.
“Perhaps some confusion comes from the new spectrum bands 5G will use. The committee heard that ‘higher frequency does not mean higher power’, and that, in fact, devices will operate at a lower power due to focusing the 5G signal only to where it is required and the increased number of antennae, which means that users will have less exposure than under previous generations of mobile technology.
“The committee has been assured that 5G is safe.”
In December last year, the federal communications minister, Paul Fletcher, announced $9m in funding to address misinformation about the health impact of telecommunications networks, including more research and public education.
The committee has made several recommendations, including getting the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (Arpansa) to better consult with members of the public about concerns over electromagnetic radiation, and the committee supported the federal government’s education campaign funding.
The report was finalised in March before misinformation began spreading online claiming either 5G was responsible for coronavirus, due to the construction of 5G networks in Wuhan, or for “poisoning cells” that created coronavirus.
The misinformation has been widely spread on Facebook, in particular – a video went viral where a man claiming to be a former Vodafone executive warned the pandemic was a global plot to install 5G and track the population through vaccines.
In reality, the Guardian revealed, the voice on the tape making the baseless claims is an evangelical pastor who had only worked in sales for Vodafone for less than a year in 2014.
Several mobile towers in the UK have been attacked by people as a result of the misinformation, and telecoms workers have reported being harassed by members of the public.
Facebook has since said it is taking “aggressive steps” to remove coronavirus-related misinformation, including linking it to 5G, or encouraging attacks on phone towers.
In Australia, a Nazi flag with #COVID19 written on it was tied to two Chinese flags on a mobile tower in regional Victoria in April.
Last weekend, anti-5G protesters joined anti-lockdown protesters in small protests in Sydney and Melbourne.
The Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association chief executive, Chris Althaus, told Guardian Australia the committee’s hearings made the mobile lobby group realise misinformation had taken hold.
“We realised that there’s a much stronger communications role that we need to play, and we see a role for government in this as well and they have responded to that call. So there’s a lot more to do, and we’re very, very active on doing it.”
Part of the problem, he said, was for most people they had heard about 5G but had not seen how it works.
“Unfortunately, like in a lot of industries with a high technology focus, the latest generation and discussion about the latest generation tends to get out well ahead of its arrival into the market.
“People have gotten used to hearing about it but they haven’t seen it, so we’ve got to do a stronger job now that 5G is coming to market. We’ve got to do a much better job of explaining the opportunities that 5G is going to bring.”
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