Apple continues to lose in Brazil lawsuits for its decision to stop selling iPhones with chargers.
According to Engadget, the Sao Paulo state court has ruled against the tech giant and fined them 100 million reals ($19 million) in a lawsuit by the Brazilian Consumer Association.
In addition, the Brazilian court has asked Apple to provide all Brazilian customers who have purchased an iPhone 12 or 13 over the past few years with a charger, as well as add chargers to the new iPhone case. Apple said it will appeal the decision.
Accordingly, the judge in charge of the case called not including a charger in the new phone case an "abuse", "requiring consumers to buy a second product to make the first product work".
Apple has been in conflict with the Brazilian government about this issue for a long time. In 2021, Sao Paulo Procon-SP fined Apple about $2 million for removing the charger from the iPhone 12, accusing the company of violating Brazil's Consumer Protection Code.
In September 2022, the country's Ministry of Justice issued a ban on Apple selling iPhones without chargers. At the same time, the company was fined 2.38 million USD and ordered to cancel the registration of the iPhone 12 series with the Brazilian national telecommunications agency. The tech giant is also appealing that decision.
Apple stopped selling iPhone in case chargers in 2020 with the release of the iPhone 12.
The company has cited environmental concerns about removing chargers after each device purchase and said the decision would save up to 861,000 tons of copper, zinc and tin.
The Brazilian Ministry of Justice remains unconcedented, telling Apple that it can help protect the environment in other ways, such as supporting USB-C ports for devices.
In Europe, Apple has a few years to change after the European Parliament voted to make USB-C the common charging standard in the EU. Mobile devices such as iPhones sold in the region will have to come with a USB-C charging port by the end of 2024.
