Apple’s troubles in Brazil are seemingly increasing, especially with the launch of every new iPhone. Recently, a Brazilian court imposed a $19 million (100 million reais) fine on the tech giant for not including a power adaptor or charger in iPhone box.
Starting from iPhone 12 series launched in 2020, Apple removed power adaptors and Earpods from iPhone boxes for environmental reasons. The company explained that most consumers already owned power adapters, so providing more would contribute to increasing electronic waste. Furthermore, slimmer boxes also reduce carbon emissions during transportation by allowing the company to ship more units per shipment.
Since then, Brazilian authorities have been imposing fines on the tech giant for doing so. In 2021, Brazilian consumer protection regulator Procon-SP imposed a $2 million fine for removing the charger from iPhone 12 box, and later that year, the authority levied a $1.9 million fine for removing the charger from iPhone 13 box.
Court called Apple’s removal of the charger from the iPhone box an “abusive” practice
According to Reuters, the Sao Paulo state court ruled against the tech giant and argued that it committed “abusive practices” by not selling a charger with its flagship product. The court was not convinced that the decision was motivated by environmental reasons.
“It is evident that, under the justification of a ‘green initiative,’ the defendant imposes on the consumer a required purchase of charger adaptors that were previously supplied along with the product,” said the court’s decision.
Apple will appeal the decision.
Previously, the Ministry of Justice in Brazil ordered a ban on iPhone sales without a charging adapter and has imposed a $2.3 million daily fine. However, the fine was conditioned to the company’s circumventing the ban, and was said that the penalty would be applied if Apple failed to provide a charger with its iPhone.
Although Brazil wants smartphone manufacturers to adopt USB-C ports in their portable devices for environmental reasons, the country is persistently against Apple’s removal of power adapters.
