At least two more European countries have requested examinations of Apple products—or suggested they be removed from shelves—after French regulators pulled some products, including the iPhone 12, from the market over the levels of electromagnetic wave emission, which Apple maintains is within the legal limits.
The iPhone 12 faces potentially being pulled from the markets of some European countries over radiation emission levels. (Photo Illustration by Stanislav Kogiku/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Key Takeaways
- German regulators told Reuters on Thursday they are looking into examining the absorption rate (SAR) of electromagnetic waves emitted by the iPhone 12.
- Belgian’s secretary of state for digitalization, Mathieu Michel, asked the Belgian Institute of Postal Services and Telecommunications (BIPT), the regulatory body of the electronic communications market, to analyze all Apple devices for “potential dangerousness” on Wednesday, several outlets report.
- Spain’s Organisation of Consumers and Users (OCU), a consumer group, is reportedly requesting authorities follow France in halting iPhone 12 sales.
- Forbes reached out to the BIPT and Spain’s OCU and the Directorate for Telecommunications of the Spanish Commission for the Markets and Competition for comment.
Chief Critic
Apple contests the criticism, and maintains the iPhone 12 has been authorized by multiple international monitoring organizations, and that it tested the device, and had third parties test it as well, to ensure SAR levels were in line with global standards.
Key Background
The news comes as the sale of the iPhone 12 has been banned in France after regulators found the SAR of electromagnetic waves from the iPhone 12 was 1.74 watts per kilogram above their limit. Regulators are sounding the alarm for potential health risks and danger, though research has failed to show any health concerns deriving from mobile phone usage, according to the World Health Organization.
What To Watch For
France’s potential recall of the iPhone 12. “Should the French authority take market-restricting measures, it can subsequently initiate proceedings at EU level as well. If in these proceedings the EU Member States do not raise any objections within three months, then the measures apply throughout the EU,” a spokesperson for Bundestnetzagentur, the German federal network agency for telecommunications, electricity, gas, post and railways, told Forbes.
This article was first published on forbes.com.
