Brazil orders Apple to suspend iPhone sales without charger

A customer holds a new green Apple iPhone 13 pro shortly after its launch at the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., March 18, 2022. REUTERS/Mike Segar

SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazil’s government on Tuesday ordered Apple Inc (AAPL.O) to stop selling iPhones in the country without battery chargers, claiming the company’s offering to consumers was incomplete.

The Justice Department fined Apple 12.275 million reais ($2.38 million) and ordered the cancellation of sales of the iPhone 12 and newer models, while suspending the sale of any iPhone models without chargers.

In the order published in the country’s official gazette, the ministry argued that the iPhone lacked a necessary component in “practices that deliberately discriminate against consumers.”

Authorities dismissed Apple’s argument that the practice was aimed at reducing carbon emissions, saying there was no evidence that selling smartphones without chargers was environmentally friendly.

The order comes a day before Apple is expected to announce its new iPhone models.

Apple declined to comment for this story.

(1 USD = 5.1548 reais)

Reporting by Peter Frontini; Editing by Steven Grattan and Louise Heavens

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