Kumar Siddhartha, Pune
As Apple unveiled its latest iPhone 15 and other products, the company received news from France that the radiation watchdog has stopped selling iPhone 12 because of radiation levels exceeding the safe levels, according to a Reuters report. The information was made public by Jean-Noel Barrot, France’s junior minister for the digital economy, in an interview with the newspaper Le Parisien.
Apple promised on Friday to update the software on iPhone 12s in France to end a dispute over radiation levels, but worries in other European nations suggested it might need to do the same elsewhere. Following tests that, according to France, revealed violations of radiation exposure limits, sales of iPhone 12 handsets were suspended this week. Apple disagreed with the results, but announced on Friday that it would release a software update to take into account the French testing procedures.
First, there is a member/limb check where a phone is held or put in a person’s trouser pocket, which is in close proximity to the body. Four watts per kilogram is the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) limit for this. The device’s “membre” SAR was 5.74 watts per kilogram, according to the regulator, exceeding the limit.
The ANFR has informed Apple that a nationwide recall of all iPhone 12 units sold will be necessary unless the issue can be resolved through a software update. However, the World Health Organization has in the past worked to allay concerns about the radiation that mobile phones emit.
On its website, it asserts that there is not enough data to establish that low-level electromagnetic field exposure poses a risk to human health.
According to Jean-Noel Barrot, software updates can lower the radiation levels in the iPhone 12. He expects Apple to respond within two weeks, he told Reuters. Barrot added, “If they fail to do so, I am prepared to order a recall of all iPhones 12 in circulation. For everyone the rule is the same, including the digital giants.” The regulatory authorities in other EU member states will be informed of the French regulatory authority’s findings. Barrot also added that this decision could have a snowball effect.
Specific Absorption Rate values related to mobile phone exposure have been subject to safety standards established by the European Union, and scientific research has suggested that these values may be associated with a higher risk of developing some cancer types.
France’s regulations requiring retailers to disclose radiation levels on product packaging were expanded in 2020 to include tablets and other electronic devices in addition to cell phones.