Brazilian court fined Apple $100 million reais ($19 million) and decided that new iPhones sold in the nation must come with battery charges.
The group of debtors, consumers, and taxpayers sued Apple, claiming that by selling its flagship product without a charger, the business engages in unfair business practises. The Sao Paulo state court decided against Apple in the case.
Apple declared that it would contest the ruling.
The IT company has previously claimed that the technique was intended to cut carbon emissions.
According to the ruling, “It is obvious that the defendant imposes on the consumer a mandatory purchase of charging adaptors that were previously supplied along with the goods under the excuse of a “green initiative”.”
The Justice Ministry of Brazil prohibited the sale of the iPhone 12 and other models because they lacked a charging brick, stating that by doing so, the firm was engaging in “deliberate discrimination against customers.”
At the time, the Justice Ministry asserted that there was no proof the exclusion of the charger was safeguarding the environment.
This comes in the wake of the recently passed EU law requiring universal chargers, which could force Apple to abandon its proprietary Lightning Connector in favour of the more widely used USB Type-C connector.
