How safe is your iPhone?
According to a French consumer watchdog similar to the ACCC, which governs radio frequencies there are serious issues with the level of radiation omitted from the likes of the iPhone 12.
The issue is serious enough that the French 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.
The iPhone 12 was first released in September 2020, and is still being sold in Australia by the likes of Apple and Officeworks, more than a million have been sold in Australia with several organisations in Australia now selling refurbished iPhone 12 mobiles.
In the past the World Health Organization has previously sought to allay fears about radiation emitted by mobile phones however French authorities claim that their lab tests reveal that the iPhone 12’s Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) was above what is legally allowed.
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 iPhone 12 failed the safe level radiation test.
Apple claims that they are contesting the ANFR’s review and have provided the regulator with its own lab results in an effort to delay or kill off the proposed ban, which was revealed on the same day that Apple was releasing their new iPhone 15.
The Minister said that “Apple is expected to respond within two weeks,”.
“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 “member” – 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 “member” 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.
