Apple tells support staff to keep quiet over iPhone radiation concerns

Apple plans to issue an over-the-air update in the coming days to iPhone 12 users in France after regulators ordered a halt to sales over concerns the device emits too much radiation.

“We will issue a software update for users in France to conform to the protocol used by French regulators,” Apple said Reuters in a statement.

The company continued: “We expect the iPhone 12 to continue to be available in France.”

Earlier this week, French regulators ordered a ban on iPhone 12 sales after a Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) test – the amount of radio frequency that is absorbed into a body from a device – exceeded European radiation exposure limits.

In addition to iPhone 12 radiation levels, another controversy is brewing Bloomberg Apple told employees to stay “mum” when customers ask about the radiation issue:

If customers ask about the French government’s claim that the model exceeds electromagnetic radiation standards, workers should say they have nothing to share, Apple employees have been told. Staff should also refuse customer requests to return or exchange the phone unless it was purchased within the last two weeks, Apple’s normal return policy.

Customers who ask if the phone is safe should be told that all Apple products go through rigorous testing to ensure they are safe, according to the guide.

Apple rejected the radiation claims, saying “this is related to a specific testing protocol used by French regulators and not a security concern” for customers. “The ANFR [French regulator] is preparing to quickly test this update,” Noel Barrot, France’s digital affairs minister, told Reuters.

The timing of iPhone radiation concerns comes the same week that Apple announced its new iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro lineup…Coincidence?

Over the years, we’ve told readers about the radiation risks while using smartphones:

In today’s digital age, portable devices are carried everywhere, from the bedside to the kitchen table to the office and even to the bar. One has to wonder if radiation exposure from smartphones is overfeeding certain types of cancer.