Apple was fined $19 million in Brazil because it did not provide a charger with every iPhone it sold
Apple continues to lose legal challenges in Brazil over its decision to stop including a charger in every iPhone it distributes. The dispute centers on Apple’s decision to stop delivering a charger with every iPhone. In a case that was brought forward by the Brazilian Consumers’ Association, which is a coalition of debtors, consumers, and taxpayers, the state court in the city of Sao Paulo ruled against the internet giant and imposed a penalty of one hundred million reals, which is equivalent to approximately nineteen million dollars.
In addition, the court ordered Apple to begin including chargers with all new purchases and to provide them to Brazilian consumers who have purchased an iPhone 12 or 13 in the preceding two years. These customers are eligible to get the chargers. As you probably would have anticipated, Apple has told the news organization that it will be appealing the ruling. According to Barron, the judge presiding over the case called the practice of not delivering chargers with purchases of phones “abusive” since it “requires users to obtain a second product in order for the first to work.” Apple and the government of Brazil have been at odds with one another about this issue for some time now.
As a result of Apple removing the power adaptor from the iPhone 12 in 2021, the consumer defense organization Procon-SP in So Paulo assessed a fine of $2 million against the company. The organization cited a violation of Brazil’s Consumer Defense Code as the reason for the fine. According to a decision that was issued by the nation’s Ministry of Justice in September, Apple is not permitted to offer iPhones that do not have a charger included with the device. The court also imposed further fines totaling $2.38 million against the company and ordered the termination of the iPhone 12’s registration with the company. The technological behemoth is also putting that judgment to the test.
Apple discontinued the practice of supplying power adapters in the retail packaging of its smartphones after the launch of the iPhone 12 in the year 2020. The company will no longer include chargers with the purchase of the device, citing environmental concerns as the reason for this decision. According to their calculations, this will result in the loss of 861,000 tonnes of copper, zinc, and tin.
The Brazilian Ministry of Justice was not convinced by that argument and informed Apple that there are other ways the company could protect the environment, such as by enabling USB-C on its products. However, Apple did not accept their advice. Apple has a few years to transition its charging standard to USB-C after the European Parliament voted to make USB-C the recognized charging standard in the European Union. Mobile devices that are sold in the area, like the iPhone, must have USB-C charging connectors.