Brazilian government tells Apple it can't sell iPhones without a charger anymore

Date:
Wed, 07 Sep 2022 05:00:00 +0000

Description:
Brazil says Apple can't sell iPhones without a charger anymore, while also fining the company $2.3 million, saying Apple is selling an "incomplete product".

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Brazil dropped quite the bomb on Apple this week when that nations government told the tech giant that it can no longer sell iPhones within its borders without a wall charger.

The order comes from Brazils Ministry of Justice and Public Security who claims that Apple is selling an incomplete product to people. The Ministry even goes as far as to call the lack of chargers a deliberate discriminatory practice against consumers. On top of that, the Brazilian government is ordering Apple to pay a fine of over 12 million reais (around $2.3 million) and the iPhone 12 will no longer be registered with the countrys National Telecommunications Agency; better known as Anatel . You can think of it as Brazils version of the United States Federal Communications Commission (the FCC).

According to the announcement, Brazilian authorities dont buy Apples argument that omitting the charger was done out of concern for the environment. The countrys consumer protection agency Senacon, (National Consumer Secretariat), states theres no evidence that selling an iPhone without a charger helps the environment. If anything, its a burden to consumers . Senacon retorts by suggesting Apple switch over to USB-C cables and chargers if it truly wants
to help the environment.

This news comes at a really awkward time for Apple as it comes the day before the company is set to hold its big Far Out September event where people are expecting to see the new iPhone 14. Its unknown if Brazils announcement will affect the event or the new device.

We reached out to Apple and asked if they would like to make a statement
about the announcement. This story will be updated if we hear back. Ongoing challenges

This suspension is the latest in a series of regulatory challenges, not only by Brazil, but by countries from around the world.

Challenges from Brazil, in particular, have been going on for a while. Back
in 2021 , another consumer protection agency PROCON-SP (Protection and Consumer Defense Foundation of the State of So Paulo) fined Apple 10.5 millions reais (about $2 million) for similar reasons. It also states theres no evidence the wall charger omission helps the environment and that the company performed misleading advertising.

Brazil is also looking to copy recent moves by the European Union to mandate that all smartphones utilize the same USB-C charging standard. The majority
of modern Android phones already use USB-C cables so this change will mostly impact Apple who has been slow to adopt this format. Anatel is leading the charge on this front and is looking to implement a USB-C policy for devices
by July 1, 2024.

The European Union has already made its move as it will require all mobile phones, tablets, and other electronic devices to have a USB-C charging port
by the end of 2024. Lawmakers in the EU were frustrated at the smartphone industry moving at a snails pace in finding a compromise so they decided to make a move instead. Outliers

Although the EU is moving forward with a USB-C, things are different with the United Kingdom and the United States.

The UK in particular, will not be demanding Apple to adopt a one charging standard and doesnt have any plans to change this opinion any time soon. With the United States, neither party has taken to establishing a universal charging standard. There are some senators in Congress pushing for a USB-C standard but nothing beyond that.

Its entirely possible that customers in the UK and US will have a different standard than the EU and Brazil if the latter decides to go through with its USB-C charger promises. But at the same time, it's also possible Apple could just give in and embrace USB-C for future devices instead of having to create two different iPhones with different charging standards for different countries.

The second option sounds like a giant manufacturing hassle for Apple. At this point, we'll just have to wait and see how Apple responds. Brazil will allow the company to appeal its decision, according to the announcement.

If youre curious to learn about what will appear at Apples Far Out event, be sure to follow TechRadars coverage on September 7 .



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/brazilian-government-tells-apple-it-cant-sell-i phones-without-a-charger-anymore/


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