The country’s Justice Department fined Apple around $2.38 million for shipping supposedly incomplete devices.
The Brazilian government’s going to battle with Apple over its chargers, or more aptly, its lack of them. On Tuesday, Brazil’s Justice Ministry reportedly hit the smartphone giant for 12.275 million reais (or around $2.38 million) and ordered Apple to cease selling models that don’t ship with a charger. That sudden cancellation, according to Reuters, would affect Apple’s iPhone 12 and 13 models. The iPhone 12 hasn’t shipped with a charger since 2020.
Apple and other device makers claim the decision to withhold chargers and other accessories from devices represents an earnest attempt to limit the amount of junk and e-waste piling up in users’ cabinets. Data released earlier this year by the European Parliament estimates unused and discarded chargers could make up around 11,000 metric tons of e-waste annually in Europe alone. Brazilian officials aren’t buying that reasoning, though, and argue the lack of chargers amounts to a “deliberate discriminatory practice against consumers,” according to Reuters. The officials claimed iPhones shipped without chargers lack an essential component and are essentially incomplete products.
