Update, 10:32, 29/9/2023: The iPhone 12 will continue to be sold in the Netherlands without restrictions. The Dutch regulator states measures are not necessary, but says Apple needs to intervene in the situation.
The Rijksinspectie Digitale Infrastructuur (RDI) has decided not to halt the sale of the iPhone 12. According to the regulator, the device does not pose an acute health risk, although the device released too much radiation in some testing scenarios.
There will be no immediate intervention in the situation because the regulator believes that it is up to Apple to intervene in the situation. The software update already available for French users must be made available in other Member States to achieve this.
Once the update has been rolled out, regulators in the various European member states will re-examine whether the iPhone 12 meets the legal limits of the specific absorption rate (SAR). The French regulator will take the lead in the decisions.
Original, 16:05, 19/09/2023: The Dutch regulator spoke with Apple yesterday about the radiation risks of the iPhone 12. It will now take two weeks to determine the next steps. In Belgium, it is already indicated that extreme measures, like in France, do not appear necessary.
The measures taken in France for the iPhone 12 appear not to be followed in other European countries (immediately). It is not yet clear whether this will change in the Netherlands in two weeks, Computable knows. The Rijksinspectie Digitale Infrastructuur (RDI) is reviewing the situation and will take the conversation with Apple into consideration for this purpose.
Belgium reassured
In Belgium, the Secretary of State for Digitalization, Mathieu Michel, has already stated that it will not be necessary to pause sales of the iPhone 12. On behalf of the secretary of state, Belgian telecom watchdog BIPT has analyzed the devices. Its initial results are “reassuring”.
Access wanted to software update
This said, Michel did contact Apple and asked the tech giant to roll out the software update for French Apple users to other EU member states as well. “Every European should enjoy the same standards and radiation standards, as required by the European framework,” he reasoned.
Sales on iPhone 12 were paused in French last week at the insistence of the French watchdog. According to this authority, the specific absorption rate (SAR) is just above the legal maximum. These values indicate whether a device does not expose the user to too much radiation.
The French watchdog’s conclusion evoked reactions from other authorities from Europe. Apple, in turn, said the problem would be specific to France, according to the tech giant, the problems stem from a specific testing protocol that other countries do not use. That could explain why BIPT’s analysis, for example, obtains different results.
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