French watchdog halts iPhone 12 sales over too-high radiation - minister

FILE PHOTO: A worker refurbishes an Apple Iphone cell phone at a workshop of the Oxflo company, specialised in refurbishment of broken European smartphones which will be resold and provided with a warranty as part of an eco-responsible approach, in Lusignac, France, June 20, 2019. REUTERS/ Regis Duvignau/File Photo

PARIS (Reuters) - Apple must stop selling its iPhone 12 model in France due to above-threshold radiation levels, France's junior minister for the digital economy told newspaper Le Parisien in an interview published on Tuesday.

France's radiation watchdog ANFR notified Apple of its decision to ban iPhone 12 sales after it had carried out tests which showed the smartphone's Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) was slightly higher than legally allowed, Jean-Noel Barrot told the paper.