Brazil Penalizes Apple $2.4M also forbids sale of iPhones without charger
The government of Brazil said on Tuesday that Apple has been banned from selling iPhones in Brazil without a charger and fined more than $2 million over the matter. The government had accused the US tech giant of engaging in “discriminatory activities.”
The immediate suspension of the sale of all iPhone-branded handsets, regardless of model or age, without a battery charger was mandated by Brazilian authorities in an official notification.
The California corporation was required to pay a fine of 12.28 million reais (almost $2.4 million) by the Ministry of Justice and Public Security.
The Departments of Consumer Protection and Defense have passed a legislation that effectively bans the sale of all iPhone 12 and 13 models.
According to a statement from the Brazilian government, Apple has been under investigation since December for “the sale of an incomplete product,” “discrimination against the consumer,” and “the transfer of responsibility to third parties” by selling iPhone 12s and newer models without chargers for power outlets.
The business has already received fines from Brazilian state agencies, but the statement said that it “did not take any efforts to mitigate the harm and until now continued to sell the cellular devices without chargers.”
Apple claims that the decision to bar chargers from iPhone sales is the result of a “environmental commitment,” according to Brazilian authorities.
However, the ministry found that as a result of Apple’s stance, “there is no meaningful manifestation of environmental protection on Brazilian soil,” and charged the corporation with “intentional discriminatory acts against consumers.”
The official notification said, “There is no rationale for an operation that, in an effort to minimize carbon emissions, results in the introduction into the consumer market of a product whose use depends on the purchase of another (product) that is likewise sold by the company.
AFP
