Think tank ICLE says the FCC and HHS radiation inquiries are slowing US tower approvals

November 4, 2026 (EMFS)

Nov 3, 2026 (original)

Source: Truth on the Market

Source category: Advocacy/NGO

Truth on the Market, the website of US think tank International Center for Law & Economics (ICLE), has an article by Jeffrey Westling arguing that the two federal wireless radiation proceedings, at the Federal Communications Commission and the US health department, make towers harder to build. ICLE has filed evidence reviews with both, and the new argument here is political: federal attention lends health fears credibility at the local zoning hearings where antennas are approved. Federal law bars councils from refusing permits over radiation from compliant equipment, but Westling writes that opponents recast the objection as aesthetics, property values or setbacks, which they may weigh.

Note: Truth on the Market is published by ICLE, which describes itself as a nonprofit, nonpartisan and privately funded research center and does not publish a donor list. The Computer & Communications Industry Association's 2022 US tax filing records a $100,000 grant to ICLE; CCIA is a technology industry trade group.

Quotes

"Federal scrutiny can lend those fears new credibility at local permitting hearings, slowing network construction one antenna at a time."

— Jeffrey Westling, International Center for Law & Economics

"A health claim doesn’t have to survive scientific scrutiny to draw a crowd at city hall."

— Jeffrey Westling, International Center for Law & Economics

"The FCC should retain its limits and explain the evidence behind them. HHS should weigh the research, not count the complaints."

— Jeffrey Westling, International Center for Law & Economics

Location

📍 United States

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Think tank ICLE says the FCC and HHS radiation inquiries are slowing US tower approvals

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