France’s spectrum agency orders Apple to withdraw the device from the market, prompting fellow regulators in the EU to follow suit
141 mobile devices were assessed
On 12 September 2023, France’s spectrum regulator, the Agence Nationale des Fréquences (ANFR), imposed a temporary – yet immediate – ban on sales of Apple's iPhone 12 after tests it conducted indicated that the smartphone breached European radiation exposure limits. As part of its duties to control public exposure to electromagnetic waves, the ANFR recently had accredited laboratories carry out checks on 141 mobile devices currently available on the French market. The regulator found that the iPhone 12’s Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) – the level of radiofrequency energy absorbed by the body from a piece of equipment – was above the permitted threshold.
The iPhone 12 failed one of the two radiation tests
Under EU regulations, a device is assessed against two separate SAR limits:
A body contact or ‘limb’ SAR – when a phone is held in the hand or in a trouser pocket; and
A ‘trunk’ SAR – when a phone is carried in a jacket pocket or bag at a distance of 5mm.
Handsets must comply with maximum values of 4W/kg for the limb SAR and 2W/kg for the trunk SAR. The ANFR’s measurements found that the iPhone 12 met the trunk SAR limit but exceeded the limb SAR threshold, reporting a figure of 5.74W/kg. The regulator therefore instructed Apple to take steps to prevent the affected phones present in the supply chain from being made available on the market. For phones already sold, Apple has been given 15 days to take corrective action to bring the affected phones into compliance (for example, via a software update), otherwise it will have to recall them.
Other EU regulators are investigating potential health risks
Apple disputed the findings, arguing that the iPhone 12 was certified as meeting radiation standards by multiple international bodies before its launch in 2020. Apple also provided the ANFR with alternative studies in an attempt to demonstrate compliance; however, the regulator had already tasked its officers with ensuring that the device is no longer offered for sale across all distribution channels in France. The country’s Minister for Digital Transition and Telecommunications Jean-Noel Barrot stated that the results would be shared with regulators across the EU, which he considered could have a snowball effect. Authorities in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands have now moved to assess the situation, with more countries expected to follow suit. Apple has since confirmed that it will soon issue a software update for iPhone 12 users in France.
