Brazil fined Apple $20 million for selling iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 without chargers, calling it an “abuse”.
A Brazilian judge on Thursday fined Apple $20 million for selling iPhones without chargers, calling it an “abuse” that forces customers to buy an additional product.
The decision, which is subject to appeal, came after Brazil’s Justice Department issued a separate fine of nearly $2.5 million on Apple in September for the same issue and the US tech giant banned its iPhone 12 and 13 models without chargers. to sell.
The new fine — 100 million reais — was awarded by a judge of the Civil Court of Sao Paulo as damages in a lawsuit filed by Brazil’s Consumers’ Association.
Apple stopped including wall chargers with new iPhones in October 2020, saying it wanted to help reduce electronics waste.
But the move “actually requires consumers to buy a second product for the first to work,” Judge Caramuru Afonso Francisco wrote in his ruling.
He ordered the California company to provide chargers to all consumers in Brazil who have purchased iPhone models 12 or 13 in the past two years, and to include them on all new purchases.
Apple is also facing charger-related headaches on the other side of the pond.
Last week, the European Parliament passed a law requiring all smartphones, tablets and cameras to use USB-C ports as the standard for a single charger by the end of 2024, prompting Apple to change its phone designs.