In short:
- France first withdrew the iPhone 12 (model A2403) in 2023 after its independent post-market tests found radiation emissions exceeding EU safety limits when tested in “on-body” scenarios of a phone held in hand or carried in a trouser pocket.
- Apple responded to the French withdrawal by issuing a corrective software update in 2023 to reduce radiation, but only for models in France. Now, the company will roll out the fix EU-wide.
- Last week, the consumer group Phonegate Alert filed a legal complaint against the French government for failing to promptly inform the EU of ANFR's cell phone radiation data findings, calling the two-year delay "unacceptable" and requesting corrective measures to be adopted “without delay."
Why this matters:
The French frequency agency, ANFR, is unique in running routine post-market surveillance, buying phones off store shelves to test their radiation emissions. Its findings have triggered software updates or withdrawals of 60 phone models in France due to excessive radiation levels. Published analyses found ANFR’s test data indicates phone models could exceed U.S. limits by three to 11 times.
The United States has no comparable post-market surveillance program. Manufacturers supply compliance data, and there are no routine audits by U.S. agencies. However, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests have found that the Federal Communications Commission withheld internal laboratory test data showing certain cell phones exceeded radiation limits when used close to the body. Federal exposure guidelines have not been updated since 1996 and have been criticized by scientists. As Apple's radiation correction rolls out across Europe, the question remains: Will U.S. consumers ever be afforded the same protections?
