San Francisco makes radiation rating mandatory on mobiles

Setting yet another benchmark in progressive legislation, San Francisco has now made it mandatory for retailers to post notices on how much radiation is emitted by cellphones they sell.

The board of supervisors approved the ordinance, believed to be the first of its kind in the United States, despite opposition from the cellphone industry, which argued that it could impede sales and mislead consumers into believing some phones are safer than others.

Imposing roughly the same cautionary standards for cellphones as for fatty food or sugary soda, the new law in San Francisco was hailed by Mayor Gavin Newsom as a major victory for cellphone shoppers' right to know.

The law came despite a lack of conclusive scientific evidence showing that the devices are dangerous. But the administration of Gavin Newsom, the city's tech-happy mayor (he has more than 1.3 million followers on Twitter), hailed the vote.

Newsom, an avid iPhone user who is running as the Democratic nominee for California's lieutenant governor, is expected to sign the ordinance into law after a 10-day comment period.

"In addition to protecting the consumers' right to know, this legislation will encourage telephone manufacturers to redesign their devices to function at lower radiation levels," Gavin said in January in proposing the legislation.