Paris, Sept 13, (dpa/GNA) – A French regulator has demanded that Apple, remove its 3-year-old iPhone 12 from the French market, because tests showed electromagnetic radiation above allowable levels.
The French agency in charge of telecommunications regulation, known as ANFR, ordered on Tuesday, that the iPhone model, no longer be offered for sale in all distribution channels in France, as of Tuesday, according to a press release.
Initially, Apple did not react to the French authorities’ initiative. Instead, the US-based tech company presented the next generation of its smartphone – the iPhone 15 – on the same day.
The ANFR recently tested 141 phones in a laboratory, to determine how much electromagnetic radiation the body absorbs during operation of the phone. It was found that the iPhone 12 exceeded the limit for direct body contact – for example in the hand or in the pocket.
Instead of the maximum permitted 4 watts per kilogram, it was 5.74 watts per kilogram. The authorities want to check a possible update from Apple.
The limit value of 2 watts per kilogram for radiation values at a distance of 5 millimetres from the body, however, was complied with by the iPhone 12, wrote the ANFR. It applies to situations in which a phone is carried in a jacket or pocket, for example.
GNA