The authority also asks Apple to "implement all available means to quickly remedy this malfunction" on copies already sold, under penalty of having to recall them, it said in a statement sent Tuesday night to AFP.
"I trust the company's sense of responsibility to comply with our rules. My mission is to enforce them. If it did not do so, I am ready to order the recall of iPhone 12 in circulation, "said the French minister delegate for digital Jean-Noël Barrot, in an interview with the Parisian.
He said that the compliance of the smartphone "goes through a simple update of the software". Apple has 15 days to put itself in order.
Concretely, according to the French agency, the iPhone 12 exceeds by 1.74 W per kilogram (W / kg) the regulatory limit value corresponding to the energy that can be absorbed by the human body when the phone is held in the hand.
The Apple logo in a store on November 28, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois © SCOTT OLSON/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
Contacted by AFP, Apple assured that the iPhone 12 is certified as complying with the standards defined in the world by many international organizations.
The Californian giant said it had provided ANFR with the results of independent laboratory studies conducted by third parties to prove that its devices meet the standards. He plans to challenge the agency's findings.
ANFR regularly lowers the transmission power of smartphones. Most of the time, following a formal notice, manufacturers plan to update their devices to avoid withdrawal from marketing. But this is a first for Apple.
According to Jean-Noël Barrot, the withdrawal request could even be extended to the European market.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "there is currently no indication that exposure to low-level electromagnetic fields is dangerous to human health" and this "despite much research".
Apple presented Tuesday night its new range of smartphone, the iPhone 15, which will integrate a universal USB-C charging port to comply with European regulations.
© 2023 AFP