France bans sale of iPhone 12 over high radiation levels, Apple disputes the findings

Hot on the heels of the iPhone 15 launch event, Apple has a situation to deal with in France. The country’s radiation watchdog has ordered the US tech giant to stop selling its iPhone 12 model in France due to radiation levels exceeding the threshold.

France's National Frequency Agency (ANFR) has notified Apple that it is banning the sale of iPhone 12 models in the country. The decision was made after ANFR conducted a series of tests that found the smartphone's Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) exceeded the legally permissible limit. The junior minister for the digital economy in France, Jean-Noël Barrot, shared this information in an interview published on Tuesday with Le Parisien newspaper.

For the unaware, the European Union (EU) has a limit on how much radiation cell phones can emit, which is called the SAR value. The French authority will also share its findings with regulators in other EU member states, which might lead to a wider ban on the iPhone 12.

Barrot told the French newspaper that a software update should be sufficient to resolve the radiation issue with the iPhone 12. He mentioned Apple is expected to respond within two weeks, and if they fail to do so, it could result in a recall of all iPhone 12 models currently in circulation (Via Reuters).

In their response to Reuters on Wednesday, Apple stated that their iPhone 12 model had received certification from multiple international bodies, confirming its compliance with global radiation standards. Apple also noted that they had shared various test results from both their own laboratories and independent third-party labs with ANFR, all of which confirmed their compliance with SAR regulations and global standards.

The Cupertino company expressed its disagreement with ANFR's conclusions and conveyed its intention to work closely with the agency to show ongoing compliance.

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