FP StaffOct 14, 2022 14:44:04 IST
Brazil has fined Apple yet again, this time to the tune of $19 million, for selling iPhones with a charger, and for not abiding by the judgement of a previous court case.
Apple was ordered to stop selling the iPhone without a charger. This time, Apple has been fined nearly $19 million for continuing to sell iPhones without chargers.
In September this year, the Brazilian Ministry of Justice ordered the suspension of iPhone sales in the country after deciding that Apple harms consumers by selling the product without the power adapter or charger. However, Apple has continued selling iPhones in Brazil despite the ban.
A court in the state of Sao Paulo has observed that what Apple does is a “tie-in sale” since there are consumers who don’t have a compatible power adapter at home and are forced to buy a new one. Apple claims that it no longer ships the iPhone with the power adapter included as a way to reduce carbon emissions and electronic waste. However, the Brazilian court has called out Apple on this and said that it believes that this is just a way for the company to make more money by selling its own accessories.
As a result, Apple was fined about $19 million by the São Paulo Court of Justice. The court also ordered Apple to include the power adapter in iPhones sold in Brazil. Apple has said that it will appeal the decision, just as it did when the Brazilian Ministry of Justice ordered a halt to iPhone sales in the country.
Previously, Apple was fined $2.4 million in fines in Brazil for not selling iPhones with a charger included. Of course, the company’s decision to appeal the ruling buys some extra time to keep selling the devices in Brazil while it prepares its defence for a higher court.
Earlier this year, Samsung too was hit with the same requirement in Brazil. The South Korean tech giant, decided to comply with the Brazilian authorities and started including the charging adapter with its products.
The Brazilian telecom regulatory agency had proposed that every smartphone sold in the country should adopt USB-C as a standard. This proposal is somewhat similar to the recent ruling in the EU that has made USB-C as the standard port for all wired charging of personal devices. The US Senate as well as authorities in India are also considering a similar proposal.
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