France’s National Frequency Agency (ANFR) has politely asked Apple to withdraw the iPhone 12 from the French market over radiation concerns. It is worried that over exposure to the iPhone 12 could cause cancer and other health complications

The ANFR tested 141 phones and found that the iPhone 12 exceeded France’s regulatory limits for radiation. Using a measurement called SAR (specific absorption rates), the agency determined that the iPhone 12 exposes the human body to electromagnetic waves higher than the European standard of 4 W/kg (the iPhone 12's waves came in at 5.74 W/kg, said the agency).

The ANFR ordered Apple to stop selling the iPhone 12 in France. The agency also said it would send agents to retailers to ensure the phone was no longer being sold. If Apple fails to act, the ANFR is prepared to recall iPhone 12 phones currently used in the country.

You would think that a company which cares for its users might rush to withdraw the phone, given that they are already elderly.  No one in their right mind would want an elderly iPhone, but then again, hanging onto one could be a symptom of a brain tumour.

However, Jobs’ Mob has had a meltdown over the request and insisted that its phones were safe.

It said that the phone had been certified by multiple global radiation standards. Apple said in a statement sent to the ANFR that several in-house and third-party lab results showed that the phone complied with ANFR standards. The company announced that it would contest the agency’s findings and will continue interacting with the agency to establish compliance.

To be fair to Apple, none of its users will glow in the dark due to using an iPhone 12. ANFR’s SAR limits are already set ten times below the level where scientists found harmful effects

Professor Rodney Croft, the chair of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), which determines global SAR standards, said: "From a health and safety point of view, it is not as if this is putting anyone at risk.”

Ironically though, the French do not seem set to surrender. The country’s junior minister for the digital economy, Jean-Noël Barrot, said that Apple must fix the issue within two weeks or face the threat of an iPhone 12 recall.  He said that the problem could probably be fixed with a software update.

Still, it does open the way for a new generation of super heros. Who will need to get bitten by a radioactive spider when all you need is long term exposure to an out-of-date phone?