PR Case Study: France Bans iPhone12 Sale

Friends, Thank you very much for taking out time from your busy schedule to read my blog(s). Sharing knowledge with you has become my passion now. I feel encouraged after reading your feedback in the comments column. Friends’ Everything I do or say is PR.

Friends’ I’m delighted to share 119th Blog titled ‘PR Case Study: France Bans iPhone12 Sale.  

Friends I’m using iPhone12 and because of that last week a news report drew my attention “France bans sale of iPhone12 over radiation issues". Hence I decided to follow the news and to write a PR case study based on the news and the action taken by Apple to settle the big issue. 

Friends’ Apple was founded as Apple Computer Company on April 1, 1976, by Steve Wozniak, Steve Jobs, and Ronald Wayne to develop and sell Wozniak's Apple1 personal computer. It was incorporated by Steve Jobs and Wozniak as Apple Computer, Inc. in 1977. Apple is now based at Apple Park Way, Cupertino, California, USA. Once upon a time headed by the dynamic Steve Jobs, Apple is now headed by Tim Cook as its CEO.

Over a period of 46 years i.e. from 1977 to 2023, Apple started manufacturing iMac, iPod, iPhone, iPad, and iWatch and has now become world's largest technology company by revenue, with US$394.3 billion in 2022 revenue.  As of June 2022, Apple is the 4th largest personal computer vendor by unit sales; the largest manufacturing company by revenue; and the 2nd largest mobile phones manufacturer in the world. Apple is considered as one of the big five American information technology companies, alongside Alphabet (parent company of Google), Amazon, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft. 

As of March 2023, Apple is the world's biggest company by market capitalization. Apple was valued at just over $3 trillion in June 2023. Despite Apple receives criticism regarding the labor practices of its contractors, its environmental practices, and its business ethics, including anti-competitive practices and materials sourcing, it has a large following and enjoys a high level of brand loyalty. Apple has also been consistently ranked as one of the world's most valuable brands. (Source: Wikipedia).

The Crises:

“France had ordered a halt to sales of the iPhone12 device, released in 2020, on Tuesday 12th September’23 after finding that the model emitted more electromagnetic waves than permitted.”

Apple's iPhone12 model, which has been certified by international bodies as compliant with global radiation standards, after a French watchdog ordered to stop selling the handset in France due to breaching European exposure limits. The ANFR radiation watchdog found that the iPhone12 Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) exceeded legal limits. The ANFR radiation watchdog told Apple to halt sales of iPhone12 in France after tests which it said showed the phone's Specific Absorption Rate (SAR), a measure of the rate of radiofrequency energy absorbed by the body from a piece of equipment, was higher than legally allowed. The Agence Nationale des Frequences, or ANFR, said it would send agents to Apple stores and other distributors check the model was no longer being sold. The agency, which manages France's radio frequencies and periodically tests phones to check human exposure to electromagnetic waves, said it expects Apple to deploy all available means to put an end to the non-compliance. A failure to act would result in the recall of iPhone12 handsets already sold to consumers.

Belgium also joined the bandwagon and said on Thursday 14th September’23 that it would review potential health risks linked to Apple's iPhone12 in the wake of France's sale suspension, while others, like Germany, said they would wait to see how the situation in France developed. It’s pertinent to note that Apple's revenues totaled about $95 billion in Europe last year (2022), making the region it’s second biggest behind the US. As per some estimates Apple sold more than 50 million iPhone last year in Europe.

Managing the crises:

Apple, which has a considerable stake in European phone market, contested the French radiation findings, saying the iPhone 12, which is now a relatively old model launched in 2020, was certified by multiple international bodies as compliant with global standards. But to manage the existing crises efficiently Apple announced that it will release a software update for iPhone12 users in France to address concerns from French regulators regarding radiation exposure limits. The move is aimed at resolving the suspension of iPhone12 sales in France.

Apple has stated that the update is related to a testing protocol used by French regulators, rather than a safety issue. Apple said on Friday 15th September’23 it would issue a software update for iPhone12 users in France to potentially end a row with French regulators that ordered the suspension of the phone's sale due to breaches of radiation exposure limits. "We will issue a software update for users in France to accommodate the protocol used by French regulators. We look forward to iPhone 12 continuing to be available in France," Apple said in a statement.

For such a quick action and response by Apple to resolve the issue, the French government welcomed the move. Both, Apple and J N Barrot insisted there was no danger to public health from the radiation. "This is related to a specific testing protocol used by French regulators and not a safety concern," Apple said in a statement, adding that the device complied with rules on emissions all around the world. The French regulator - ANFR is preparing to quickly test this update," France Digital Affairs Minister Jean Noel Barrot's ministry said in a statement, adding this should bring the model into compliance with European standards and allow France to lift the sale suspension.

To conclude;

The US tech giant Apple had been given two weeks to issue an update to its phone, which was coming to the end of its career as a front-line Apple product. France’s Digital Affairs Minister J N Barrot said that the agency in charge of testing, the ANFR, would quickly assess the update and decide whether to lift the ban on sales. The World Health Organization has also pointed out that several studies in the field have failed to find adverse health effects caused by mobile phone use and there are no specific illnesses linked to such radiations, however, exposure to more than 40 watts per kilogram (W/kg) of electromagnetic radiation does increase body temperature. European regulations allow only 4 W/kg for such devices and the iPhone12 exceeded that level by 1.7 W/kg. Apple has endured an unusually tough week ended 16th Sepetember’23. (Source: EconomicTimes)

Thank you for reading the blog.


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