Phonegate Alert Takes the European Commission to Court to Lift Secrecy Surrounding the iPhone 12

Phonegate Alert, represented by Ms Lisa Arazi, a lawyer admitted to the Paris Bar, filed an action for annulment on 19 October 2026 before the General Court of the European Union against the European Commission’s decision of 10 August 2026 (C(2026)5810), which continues to withhold some of the documents concerning the non-compliance of Apple’s iPhone 12.

At the heart of the dispute are built-in sensors and associated algorithms capable of changing a smartphone’s transmission power, including during specific absorption rate (SAR) tests. Understanding how these mechanisms work, how they can be verified and under what conditions they may be disabled is essential to ensuring reliable and independent market surveillance.

Of the 106 documents and annexes identified across 68 files, several remain entirely inaccessible or partially redacted on the grounds of protecting Apple’s commercial interests.

Phonegate Alert is today publishing an initial selection of the documents obtained, including correspondence from the French National Frequency Agency (ANFR), Apple and Apple’s legal counsel. Despite extensive redactions, these records highlight the difficulties faced by the market surveillance authority during testing and its reliance on the manufacturer’s proprietary tools.

Apple’s Commercial Interests Cannot Be Invoked to Withhold These Documents, the NGO Argues

The association disputes that trade secrecy justifies the refusals to disclose the documents. It argues that, in any event, the requested documents constitute information “relating to emissions into the environment.”

In its view, Regulation (EC) No 1367/2006 and the case law of the Court of Justice prevent the protection of commercial interests from being invoked to withhold such information, the disclosure of which serves an overriding public interest.

France’s Commission for Access to Administrative Documents (CADA) also adopted this classification for SAR test results in its opinion No 20258499 of 11 December 2025.

Jean-Paul Huard, Secretary of Phonegate Alert:

“Phonegate Alert will not let trade secrecy bury the Phonegate scandal. The health of millions of European citizens demands genuinely independent and transparent testing. It is now for the European courts to rule.”