The Dutch telecom regulator RDI has called on US tech giant Apple to clarify the situation surrounding its iPhone 12, which reportedly breaches European radiation exposure limits.

France has ordered a halt to sales and told Apple to recall every iPhone 12 ever sold in the country if it cannot solve the radiation problem with a software update. 

The RDI has now demanded clarification from Apple as well, the AD said on Wednesday afternoon. “We are alert to this and have asked for the report,” chief inspector Angeline van Dijk told the paper. “There does not appear to be an immediate safety risk but we are going to talk to the manufacturer in the very near future.”

The French decision could have implications for all of Europe because if one regulator has reached such a conclusion, there is a likelihood that others will adopt the same position, Michiel Steltman, director of the foundation Digitale Infrastructuur Nederland, told the AD.

The French report, by an independent institute, found that the iPhone 12 emits more radiation than permitted under EU rules when a phone is in close contact with a person’s body.

The phone was launched on the Dutch market three years ago.

Apple itself told international news agency AFP it had doubts about the research results and that its analyses show the phone meets the standards.

Monique Beerlage from the electromagnetic field expertise centre KEV told news website Nu.nl that the risk to public health was zero.

European standards are so tough that a minor infringement will not cause damage to health, she said. However, she said, the standards are there to protect people with specific health issues.”