iPhone 13 Lightning port
(Photo: Molly Flores)
Brazil’s Ministry of Justice has ordered Apple to stop selling iPhones without chargers in the country, on claims Apple is selling consumers an incomplete product.
Apple stopped bundling the power adapter in 2020 with the iPhone 12 series, citing the need to cut down on electronic waste and to make the product’s packaging easier to ship. However, Brazil’s Ministry of Justice isn't buying Cupertino’s justifications.
The ministry’s National Consumer Secretariat accused Apple of transferring the cost burden to consumers by removing the power adapter. The ministry also said Apple could have taken better measures to address environmental waste by adopting the USB-C port for iPhones, rather than continue to rely on the proprietary Lightning port.
Brazil’s Ministry of Justice announced the decision after a consumer protection agency in the country also demanded Apple re-bundle iPhones with the charger back in December 2020. This later resulted in the consumer protection agency fining Apple about $2 million.
Tuesday’s order from Brazil’s Ministry of Justice notes that Apple has made no changes to its practices, despite the fines. To enact the sales suspension, the agency sent letters to various consumer regulators across the country, “so that they become aware of the decision, supervise and adopt the measures they deem appropriate.”
Brazil’s Ministry of Justice is also issuing an additional $2.3 million fine against Apple.
The sales suspension arrives a day before Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 14. Cupertino didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. But as of Tuesday, the company continues to sell iPhone models, sans the power adapter, on the official Apple website for Brazil. Buyers get a USB-C-to-Lightning cable; the power adapter costs an extra $36.
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