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c0lo [soylentnews.org] writes:

Gizdomo [gizmodo.com.au]

The European Parliament is fed up with e-waste—in particular, charging cables. To fix the problem, lawmakers are debating a binding measure that would force gadget makers to use a standardised charging port.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this from Europe. One reason why microUSB is so prevalent is back in 2009, the European Commission pushed for it as a universal standard on the continent. Even Apple, the notorious standout in the world of proprietary chargers, acquiesced and made available a microUSB adaptor. (Of course, it was Europe-only).

Once that initiative expired in 2014, European lawmakers tried again to force a common charger, reiterating that it would be not only convenient for consumers, but would also limit e-waste.

The only problem was the initiative called for a “voluntary approach”—a strategy that in a briefing, the European Parliament said has “not yielded the desired results” and “fell short of the co-legislators’ objectives.” And, while the briefing doesn’t specify exactly what port type it has in mind, at this point, USB-C is the likeliest contender.
...
In 2018, European lawmakers conducted an inception impact assessment [macrumors.com] [PDF] on the idea of a common charger and called for feedback from manufacturers. In January last year, Apple provided it [europa.eu].

In its statement, Apple contends that “regulations that would drive conformity across the type of connector built into all smartphones freeze innovation rather than encourage it. Such proposals are bad for the environment and unnecessarily disruptive for customers.”

Original Submission