Brazilian regulator seizes hundreds of iPhones without chargers from retail stores

Microsoft
By Microsoft 3 Min Read
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Apple’s fight with regulators in Brazil has escalated once again, with news that hundreds of iPhones have been physically seized in multiple retail stores in the nation’s capital.

The Brazilian government has been displeased with Apple since the company stopped bundling power adapters with its phones in 2020. .) It claimed the practice was abusive and fined Apple $2 million in March 2021.

In April of this year, a Brazilian judge ordered Apple to pay the equivalent of $1,081 to a specific iPhone customer not to include a power adapter. And in September, the Ministry of Justice ordered the suspension of all iPhone sales in the country. But Apple hasn’t backed down yet.

Which brings us to “Operation Discharge” on November 11, in which, as first reported by the Portuguese-language site Technoblog this week, Procon-DF removed hundreds of iPhones from five stores in Brasilia, including authorized Apple resellers. While previous speculation suggested that regulators might have focused specifically on the iPhone 12, Tecnoblog reports that models from the iPhone 11 (whose packaging also dropped the charger after the 12 launched) to the all-new iPhone 14 have been kidnapped.

After the seizures, Apple has been busy securing future sales in the country, but has apparently not agreed to bundle the chargers. Three days after the deal, Apple filed an order to secure iPhone sales in Brazil (although that may only be temporary), and the company told Tecnoblog on Tuesday that sales were proceeding normally.

It is difficult to predict how the dispute will proceed, even if both sides at the moment seem determined to continue fighting. The (also in Portuguese language) Mac Magazine notes that the judge who issued the order made positive comments about its chances, arguing that the company did not violate consumer rights and that the Brazilian regulator had committed an “abuse of power”. He points out that many electronic devices are sold without chargers, but Apple has been the only target of the crackdown.

9to5Mac, however, notes that Apple appears to have backed down in a similar case, including the USB-C cable with the new Apple TV 4K in Brazil while removing it in other markets. This suggests a lack of appetite for further controversy.

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