The lessons to be learned now the ABC's pulled its 'inaccurate' Wi-Fried program

The ABC has this week announced that an episode of its Catalyst television program "breached the ABC's impartiality standards" when it raised concerns about the safety of wireless devices such as mobile phones. The episode, titled Wi-Fried? and broadcast on February 16 this year, claimed that the radiofrequency (RF) emissions from Wi-Fi was causing health effects ranging from DNA damage to cancer. Such statements are not mainstream scientific positions, but rather are views that leading health authorities have considered when concluding that there is no evidence that low-level RF, such as that from Wi-Fi, mobile phones or base stations, impairs health. I was one of many people who raised concerns about the claims in the Catalyst program, writing as part of an expert panel for The Conversation. But there were many other critics of the program including the ABC's own Media Watch program.