The NGO Phonegate Alert announces that it has secured the definitive halt of a biased European regulatory process that threatened to legalize fraudulent practices by smartphone manufacturers.
This success marks the end of a sham consultation and the beginning of the “mother of all battles” against the massive software fraud surrounding the SAR indicator, which is supposed to protect user health.
A Months-Long Standoff Against the Capgemini Report
Since the spring of 2025, Phonegate Alert has been mobilized against the initiative “Activation of EU rules on radio equipment,” which was based on an impact study by the consultancy firm Capgemini.
This report deliberately ignored the use of cheat software and the 64 phone models sanctioned in France for exceeding SAR (Specific Absorption Rate) thresholds. It aimed to entrench regulatory inaction in favor of the industry.
In a letter sent on January 8, 2026, to Mr. Stéphane Séjourné (Executive Vice-President of the European Commission) and several MEPs (Pascal Canfin, Anna Cavazzini, Christophe Clergeau, Valérie Hayer, François Kalfon, Merja Kyllonen, Marie Toussaint), the NGO warned against the risk of institutionalizing Phonegate—a true “Dieselgate” of the mobile phone industry.
Official Abandonment of the Initiative: A Major Victory
In a letter dated January 21, 2026, Ms. Ana Xavier (Head of Unit at DG GROW) confirmed that the European Commission has decided to abandon the legislative modification initiative.
This decision constitutes a major victory: by blocking the adoption of this report, Phonegate Alert prevented substandard safety norms from becoming the rule. The Commission has acknowledged in writing that our alerts regarding the “systemic risk of software fraud” are now officially part of the record.
The Commission’s Response: An Involuntary Admission
On January 21, 2026, the Commission wrote to Phonegate Alert: “If you have evidence of software fraud, we will analyze it.” Yet, the Commission has possessed this evidence since August 2025 through its own Implementing Decision 2025/1760, which officially recognizes it:
- Apple uses “Body Detect” software that intentionally reduces power to pass SAR tests
- Numerous smartphones are equipped with motion sensors programmed to alter emitted power
- This software is proprietary and hidden from authorities
- This practice is widespread across the industry (“as other manufacturers generally do”)
Nine Years of Alerts: 2017 to 2026
Phonegate Alert has been denouncing this software fraud since 2017. Under pressure from our NGO, the ANFR (French National Frequency Agency) has demanded since 2019 that manufacturers provide the deactivation keys for embedded software (motion sensors, proximity sensors, time averaging).
To date, some manufacturers systematically refuse to hand over these keys. For instance, Apple has never provided keys for any ANFR test. Other manufacturers follow suit. These refusals are implicit admissions: cheat software exists, and the industry is hiding it.
The Trap: The Commission Can No Longer Plead Ignorance
In August 2025, the Commission itself ruled (Decision 2025/1760) that this fraud exists for the iPhone 12. In January 2026, it wrote to Phonegate Alert: “If you have evidence, we will analyze it.”
This is incomprehensible. The Commission cannot simultaneously recognize the fraud in August 2025 and claim to be unaware of it in January 2026. Phonegate Alert will respond to the Commission by sending them their own Decision 2025/1760. The Commission has trapped itself.
“By blocking this flawed regulatory development, we have forced the Commission to end its ambiguity. It can no longer hide behind a consultant’s report to ignore the fraud. The battle for the enforcement of Directive 2014/53/EU starts now: the health and safety of every European citizen must be protected by real monitoring of radiation exposure from phones and connected objects, not by sham tests rigged by spy software.”