French regulators on Tuesday ordered Apple to stop selling its iPhone 12 model in France due to “above-threshold radiation levels,” Reuters reports.

The ANFR, France’s radiation regulatory agency, said the model “emits more electromagnetic waves susceptible to be absorbed by the body than permitted,” Tech Xplore added.

French newspaper Le Parisien first reported the news.

Reuters reports:

France’s radiation watchdog ANFR notified Apple of its decision to ban iPhone 12 sales after it had carried out tests which showed the smartphone’s Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) was slightly higher than legally allowed, Jean-Noel Barrot told the paper.

Apple did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment.

Barrot said a software update would be sufficient to fix the radiation issues linked to the phone which the U.S. company has been selling since 2020.

“Apple is expected to respond within two weeks”, Barrot said, according to Reuters.

“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.”

Barron’s provided additional details:

It said accredited labs had found absorption of electromagnetic energy by the body at 5.74 watts per kilogram during tests simulating when the phone was being held in the hand or kept in a pocket.

The European standard is a specific absorption rate of 4.0 watts per kilogram in such tests.

“Concerning phones already sold, Apple must in the briefest of delays take corrective measures to bring the affected phones into compliance,” said the ANFR in a statement on its website.

“Otherwise, Apple will have to recall them.”

 

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