Brazil court fines Apple, requires it to sell iPhones together with chargers: Why is Apple against this?

Brazil court fines Apple, requires it to sell iPhones together with chargers: why is Apple against this?

The court of Sao Paulo state of Brazil has fined Apple for selling smartphones without a charger, and ruled that iPhones must be sold with chargers in Brazil. Apple will have to pay a fine of about 19 million dollars (100 million reals), but the company has already said it intends to appeal the ruling.

Back in September, Brazil's Ministry of Justice and Public Security had ordered to stop iPhone sales in the country, saying that selling devices without a charger caused problems for consumers. Despite the ban, Apple continued to sell them without chargers, and now a Brazilian court is actually fining the company for it. The lawsuit was filed by the Brazilian Consumers' Association, a group of borrowers, consumers, and taxpayers of the country.

Caring for the environment? Or for their own income?

In September 2020, Apple began selling smartphones without a charger, citing the "environmental protection" as the basis of the decision. The company's report for this year says that not including polyethylene film in the packaging of the iPhones has made it possible to reduce the use of plastic by about 600 tons per year, and not adding chargers to the set of smartphones saves about 550,000 tons of copper-tin and zinc ore.

But neither consumers nor experts agree with these arguments. Many argue that the most common desire is to make more money under the guise of "caring for the environment." Smartphones without chargers are not even cheaper than smartphones sold with chargers. In addition, since the iPhone's charger and cable are not standard USB-C, users have to buy them separately – and usually at a high price.

The Brazilian court saw also in Apple’s clarification of its decision only a desire to make more money in the company's approach to this matter.

"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," reads the court ruling.