Brazil’s Justice Ministry in September ordered the suspension of iPhone sales in the country after concluding that Apple was harming consumers by not offering the power adapter that came with the device. Even after million-dollar fines, Apple is still not complying with the requirement, leading the Federal District consumer protection regulator to seize iPhones from retail stores.
iPhones seized in Brazil for not having a charger included
As first reported by Techblog, Procon-DF seized “hundreds of iPhones in different retail stores in Brasilia”, the capital of Brazil. In an action dubbed “Operation Discharge,” the regulator aims to force Apple to comply with local laws that require smartphones to be shipped with the charger included in the box.
According to the report, the iPhones were seized from carrier stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. The regulator has ordered a ban on any iPhone model that lacks the charger included in the box. Although Apple stopped shipping the accessory for free with the iPhone 12, the company also updated the iPhone 11 with a new, more compact case without a charger.
After the seizure of the iPhones, Apple Brazil asked the government to allow sales of the smartphone in the country until the final decision of the litigation. The company said Techblog that it continues to sell iPhones in Brazil despite the operation.
As noted MacMagazine, Judge Diego Câmara Alves, who authorized the company to continue selling iPhones in Brazil until a final decision, considers that the company does not violate any consumer rights. The judge also claims that the Brazilian regulator is “abusing its power” with such a decision. Apple says it’s confident it will win the case and that customers “know the different options for charging and connecting their devices.”
Apple is not so confident
Despite what the company says about being confident it will win the dispute, a recent company decision shows otherwise. With the recently released next-gen Apple TV, which comes with an updated version of the Siri Remote with USB-C instead of Lightning, the company has stopped shipping the product with a charging cable included in the box. box.
Interestingly, in Brazil the new Apple TV 4K still comes with a USB-C cable included in the box. While the company won’t say why it made the decision, it seems pretty obvious that Apple wanted to avoid further fines from the Brazilian regulator amid the iPhone charger controversies.
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