Yesterday, the government of Brazil's Ministry of Justice and Public Security announced that it is suspending the sale of iPhones that do not come with a charger. The ministry also fined Apple 12 million reais (approx. $2.4 million) and ordered the cancelation of the iPhone 12's registration in the country's national telecoms agency Anatel.
The ministry argued that Apple was selling an incomplete product in a "deliberate discriminatory practice against consumers."
In its defense, Apple claimed that it doesn't provide chargers together with smartphones due to environmental concerns. However, the Brazilian authorities didn't find the argument enough, as "the company's decision to sell the devices without a charger ended up transferring the entire burden to the consumer".
The first phone that came without a charger in the box was the iPhone 12 that was launched in 2020. Since then, Apple hasn't included chargers in any iPhone devices.
The ministry also said that if Apple really wanted to reduce environmental impact, they could use the USB Type-C cables as adopted by the rest of the industry.
Apple says that it would continue to work with Brazilian consumer protection agency Senacon in order to resolve their concerns while appealing the decision.
"We have already won several court rulings in Brazil on this matter and we are confident that our customers are aware of the various options for charging and connecting their devices," Apple said to Reuters.
Source: Reuters
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