EU reviews iPhone 12 phones following France's ban over radiation

By Agnes Szucs

BRUSSELS (AA) – The EU might ban the sale of Apple's iPhone12 phones in the entire bloc if no member objects to France's decision to halt sales due to breaches of radiation exposure limits, an official said on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters at the European Commission’s daily news briefing, spokesperson for EU internal market Sonya Gospodinova said the EU executive body and member states received on Wednesday France’s notification on temporally suspending the sale of iPhone 12 devices.

She said Paris followed a procedure set by the EU legislation on radio equipment, and EU "member states now have three months to assess" the complaint.

“The European Commission is currently waiting for the member states’ reactions” and will take measures after receiving them, the official added.

Belgium’s state secretary for digitalization Mathieu Michel said on Wednesday that he “demanded the Belgian Institute for Post and Telecommunications Services to analyze the potential risks linked to this Apple product.”

France ordered Apple on Tuesday to withdraw its iPhone 12 from sale after tests found that the model was producing radiation levels that exceeded regulatory thresholds.

Under the EU rules, mobile phones must have a radiation level below 4 watts per kilogram, while it was 5.74 watts per kilogram in 141 cellphones tested by the National Frequency Agency.

Apple contested the decision, claiming the device was certified by several international safety bodies.