Apple must stop selling its iPhone 12 model in France due to above-threshold radiation levels, France's junior minister for the digital economy told newspaper Le Parisien in an interview published on Tuesday.

PARIS, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Apple must stop selling its iPhone 12 model in France due to above-threshold radiation levels, France’s junior minister for the digital economy told newspaper Le Parisien in an interview published on Tuesday.

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”, he said, adding: “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.”

The European Union has set safety limits for SAR values linked to exposure to mobile phones, which could increase the risk of some forms of cancer according to scientific studies.

The French watchdog will now pass on its findings to regulators in other EU member states. “In practical terms, this decision could have a snowball effect”, said Barrot.

In 2020, France widened regulations requiring retailers to display the radiation value of products on packaging beyond cell phones, including tablets and other electronic devices.

Reporting by Tassilo Hummel; Editing by Aurora Ellis

    • balls_expert@lemmy.blahaj.zone
      391·
      1 year ago

      5.6 watts a second is 5.6 joules which would, if entirely directed at your nuts, heat the equivalent mass in water to your ballsack by 0.20°C

      I’ve done worse temperature changes to ballsacks by putting them in my mouth you’ll be fineeeee

    • agitatedpotato@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      11·
      1 year ago

      Nah, this has got to be about the radio waves that make up cell phone signal which is non ionizing radiation just like FM radio is. Good to regulate because of how close we keep phones to us. Extended exposure to too high levels can cause problems.

    • Patapon Enjoyer@lemmy.world
      5·
      1 year ago

      From the Googling I just did, the levels phones aren’t allowed to be sold are purposedly kept way lower than what would be actually harmful. If you’re actually worried about overexposure, like if your job had you make phone calls all day, use headphones, that way it’s not contacting you.

      • pH3raOP
        42·
        1 year ago

        That’s just a partial answer.
        When doing this calculations, safety commissions always takes count of what they call “cumulative exposure”, as mobile phones are just one of many devices emitting radiations, with modems, IOT stuff, bluetooth/radio rigs, microwave ovens, even some LED lamps… If one devices “contributes too much” to the summation then it must be discarded.

        • pimento64@sopuli.xyz
          65·
          1 year ago

          Please explain in your own words what you think radiation is and how you believe this kind causes harm. As in, the actual mechanism. This should be good.

          • pH3raOP
            62·
            1 year ago

            I don’t work in physics or medicine, but I have background in workplace safety checks and how EMF regulation works. If you think I interpreted wrong the informations try to do it in a constructive way.
            Otherwise you’re just creating more confusion

            • pimento64@sopuli.xyz
              28·
              1 year ago

              In other words, you don’t have any idea what you’re talking about, as evidenced by the fact that you refused to answer the question. You don’t get to have an opinion on something if you don’t have the slightest idea of what it is or how it works, nobody does.

      • Em Adespoton@lemmy.ca
        31·
        1 year ago

        Depends on where you store your phone and how close the nearest tower is.

        If you regularly have low or no reception and keep your phone between your legs, it could cause problems. The phone doesn’t need to be making a voice call to ramp up the signal; it just needs to be compensating for a weak tower signal.

    • Wage_Slave@kbin.social
      31·
      1 year ago

      The mini, due to it’s small size and easy to boof design I think would make it the most cancerous of the designs.

      Imagine, finally being able to boof your iphone and then the battery goes full spicy pillow and pops. And the inside of the battery is where the real cancer magic happens.

      Pretty embarrassing stuff if you ask me.