The report “Global E-Waste Monitor 2024” paints a troubling picture of the world’s current efforts to efficiently recycle E-waste. According to the report, less than one quarter (22.3%) of E-waste in 2022 was properly collected and recycled. At the same time, the annual generation of E-waste is rising by over 2.6 million tons each year and will exceed over 80 million tons by the year 2030, an increase of 33% in just eight years.
Further, the report predicts that E-waste collection and recycling rates will drop to just 20% of all generated E-waste by 2030, due in large part to disparate recycling efforts among countries that are the largest producers of E-waste in the world.
Providing one glimmer of hope, the report predicts that the benefits of E-waste collection and recycling efforts would dramatically exceed their cost, provided that collection and recycling efforts could achieve a threshold rate of 60% by 2030.
The FCC’s actions align with an investigation conducted by NBC News that found more than a dozen different companies marketing devices for sale that interfere with licensed communications systems by sending out competing radio signals. These radio frequency jammers, as they are called, can be used to block Wi-Fi networks or to disable security cameras or unmanned aircraft systems (UAS, also known as drones).
Radio frequency jammers have the potential to interfere with licensed radio communications services, including public safety services and networks, and are expressly prohibited from being marketed or sold in the U.S. under federal law and FCC rules.
According to an article posted to the NBC News website on the network’s investigation, an FCC spokesperson acknowledged that the Commission has several ongoing investigations into illegal jammer sales. “We have several ongoing investigations into retailers, including Amazon, for potential violations of Commission rules related to the marketing and sale of equipment without FCC authorization,” said Jonathan Uriarte, the FCC spokesperson.
The white paper “Artificial Intelligence & Medical Products: How CBER, CDER, CDRH, and OCP are Working Together” is an effort to map out a strategic plan for the “responsible deployment and use of AI and AI-enabled technologies in the health and human services sector.” The white paper sets forth a strategic plan with policies and frameworks for the regulation and oversight of AI-enabled technologies used in medical products.
The FDA’s AI and Medical Products white paper was jointly developed by various FDA Centers, including the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), the Center of Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH), and the Office of Combination Products (OCP).
According to a proposed rulemaking published in the Federal Register, electrical stimulation devices (ESDs) designed with the intent of reducing or stopping self-injurious or aggressive behaviors in humans “present an unreasonable and substantial risk of illness or injury.” Specifically, the FDA says that ESDs “present a number of psychological risks including depression, anxiety…and physical risks such as pain, burns, and tissue damage.”
If adopted, the new rules would require the removal of ESDs from the U.S. market and would prohibit the legal sale or marketing of such devices in the future.
The FDA first issued a ban on ESDs in 2020, but the rule was vacated in a court challenge. The FDA says that its current actions fall under the updated version of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) that more clearly asserts the FDA’s authority to issue such bans.
The FCC’s “U.S. Cyber Trust Mark” Program will enable manufacturers of internet-enabled devices to qualify their products in accordance with rigorous cybersecurity requirements based on criteria developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Devices that meet those requirements will then be permitted to apply the Cyber Trust Mark to their products, similar to the Energy Star logo currently applied to energy‑efficient appliances.
According to the FCC, the Cyber Trust Program is intended to help consumers make informed decisions regarding their purchases of internet-enabled devices, while also providing an incentive for manufacturers to meet higher cybersecurity standards.