Writer: TOLULOPE OLANIYI
France has reportedly ordered Apple to stop selling the iPhone 12 for emitting too much electromagnetic radiation.
On Tuesday, the French watchdog which governs radio frequencies also told the tech giant to fix existing phones.
The ANFR has advised Apple that if it cannot resolve the issue via a software update, it must recall every iPhone 12 ever sold in the country.
But the World Health Organization has previously sought to allay fears about radiation emitted by mobile phones.
It says on its website there is no evidence to conclude that exposure to low level electromagnetic fields is harmful to humans.
The iPhone 12 was first released in September 2020, and it is still sold worldwide.
Apple told the BBC it was contesting the ANFR’s review and said it had provided the regulator with lab results from the tech giant itself and third parties which show the device is compliant with all the relevant rules.
It said the iPhone 12 was recognised as being compliant with regulations on radiation levels worldwide.
France’s digital minister Jean-Noel Barrot told French newspaper Le Parisien the decision was due to radiation levels above the acceptable threshold, according to Reuters.
He said the ANFR found the iPhone 12’s Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) was above what is legally allowed.
“Apple is expected to respond within two weeks,” he said.
“If they fail to do so, I am prepared to order a recall of all iPhones 12 in circulation. The rule is the same for everyone, including the digital giants.”
France will share its findings with other regulators across the trading bloc – which Barrot said could result in “a snowball effect”.
The ANFR requires the SAR of devices to be checked against two different ways a phone is used.
First there is a “membre” – or limb – check, for when a phone is in close contact with a person’s body, such as when it is held or placed in a trouser pocket. The SAR limit for this is four watts per kilogram.
The regulator said the device’s “membre” SAR was 5.74 watts per kilogram – higher than the limit.
There is also a check for when a phone is slightly further away, such as when it is in a bag or jacket pocket, but the iPhone 12’s SAR measure came in under this threshold.
The news first broke on Tuesday in France – the same day that Apple unveiled its new iPhone 15.
The new phone is the first since 2012 to feature an alternative charging port, and Apple says it will sell an adapter so people can use their existing cables.
It comes as the Chinese foreign ministry issued a rebuttal against media reports which claimed government agencies had told staff to stop using iPhones.
It said China has not issued any laws, regulations or policies blocking the use of Apple’s products.
France orders Apple to remove iPhone 12 from market over radiation concerns
France has ordered Apple to remove its three-year-old iPhone 12 from the market because tests showed electromagnetic radiation above permissible levels.
A French regulator has demanded that Apple remove its three-year-old iPhone 12 from the French market because tests showed electromagnetic radiation above permissible levels.
The French agency in charge of telecommunications regulation (ANFR) ordered that the iPhone model “no longer (be) offered for sale in all distribution channels in France” again.
The ANFR recently tested 141 phones in a laboratory to determine how much electromagnetic radiation the body absorbs during the operation of the phone.
It was found that the iPhone 12 exceeded the limit for direct body contact, for example, in the hand or the pocket.
Instead of the maximum permitted four watts per kilogramme, it was 5.74 watts per kilogramme.
The authorities want to check a possible update from Apple.
The limit value of two watts per kilogram for radiation values at a distance of five millimetres from the body, however, was complied with by the iPhone 12, wrote the ANFR.
It applies to situations in which a phone is carried in a jacket or pocket, for example.
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