Brazil bans Apple from selling iPhones without chargers

The Brazilian government has asked Apple to stop selling in this Latin American country all iPhone smartphone models that do not come with a battery charger.

In addition, the Brazilian Ministry of Justice also fined Apple more than $ 2 million on the grounds that the corporation was providing an incomplete product to consumers.

This fine was introduced a day before Apple announced the new iPhone model. Apple has not yet commented on the Brazilian authorities’ decision.

According to the announcement of the Brazilian Ministry of Justice, the act of discarding important items such as chargers shows “intentional discrimination against consumers”, and rejects Apple’s argument that discarding the charger help reduce carbon emissions and protect the environment. The agency demanded “immediate suspension of the supply of all iPhone-branded smartphones, regardless of model or generation, as long as no charger is included”.

In October 2021, the Brazilian Consumer Protection Agency (Procon-SP) also fined Apple $1.9 million after looking into its behavior in selling iPhone 13 without charger in the country. Brazil.

A year earlier, Procon-SP began looking into Apple selling the iPhone 12 without the charger. According to the agency, Apple cannot prove its “environmental protection” stance from its new policy.

In December 2020, Procon-SP announced that selling iPhones in this country without a charger is a violation of the Consumer Law.

At that time, Apple argued, users had a lot of its phone chargers, so they could use an old charger for iPhone 12, and this helped limit the amount of electronic waste released into the environment. outside.

However, Procon-SP found Apple’s above argument not convincing enough because buying a phone with a charger is essential, while Apple is not responsible if users charge iPhone batteries with a third-party charger. father.

In October 2021, a group of Chinese students filed a lawsuit against Apple because it sold iPhones without a charger. In their lawsuit, this group of students argued that the USB-C to Lightning adapter that Apple included when selling the iPhone was not compatible with other chargers on the market, so they couldn’t charge it. iPhone as advertised by Apple, forcing them to buy a separate charger for 100 yuan (equivalent to 16 USD).

The plaintiffs also argue that Apple is just using “environmental protection” as an excuse to cut back on iPhone chargers, when many studies show that Apple has “pocketed” an additional $ 2.7 billion. every year thanks to the lack of a charger when selling the iPhone.