Santa Fe man demands half a mill for being near iPhone

Apple a day evidently not keeping the doctor away

Arthur Firstenberg is suing his neighbour for $530,000 for refusing to switch off her iPhone, claiming that the electromagnetic fields generated are destroying his health.

Not only does Mr. Firstenberg want the iPhone switched off, but he also reckons that leaving the iPhone and a laptop charging overnight is denying him the sleep he so badly needs, according to the filing spotted by the Santa Fe Reporter. This is apparently why his half-million claim includes $100,000 for pain and suffering.

Mr. Firstenberg isn't new on the Campaigners-Against-Stuff circuit. We reported back in November 2008 how his Cellular Phone Task Force was campaigning to have the government pay for EMF-Free zones where fellow sufferers could hide out.

Since then, he's been trying to find some fellow sufferers and has been running advertisements asking people if the switch off of analogue TV has made them ill. Well, he's asking if the switch on of Digital TV is making them ill, but he waited until analogue was switched off to ask the question - apparently with some success, despite the ridicule of hardened conspiracy theorists.

Apparently, this time it's not just that the iPhone and laptop themselves that are causing problems. The filing alleges that shared wiring between the adjacent houses somehow transmits signals through the walls, "intensifying his exposure".

The Santa Fe Reporter has the filing in full, but we can't help feeling that people like Arthur Firstenberg just give everyone with irrational fears about new technology a bad name. ®