European Regulators Violate Free Choice and Hurt the Environment by Banning Apple’s Lightning Port

(p. B6) . . ., Apple didn’t want to remove the Lightning port. The European Union passed legislation that states that by the end of 2024, mobile phones, tablets and other gadgets sold in the EU will have to be equipped with a USB Type-C “receptacle.”

. . .

In an interview with me last year, Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, argued that this would just create more e-waste since over a billion people would have to get rid of Lightning cables.

“We think the approach would have been better environmentally and better for our customers to not have a government be so prescriptive,” he said.

For the full commentary, see:

Joanna Stern. “PERSONAL TECHNOLOGY; Why a Tiny USB-C Port Is a Huge Deal.” The Wall Street Journal (Friday, Sept. 15, 2023): B6.

(Note: ellipses added.)

(Note: the online version of the commentary has the date September 12, 2023, and has the title “PERSONAL TECHNOLOGY; iPhone 15 and 15 Pro First Look: Why a Tiny USB-C Port Is a Huge Deal.”)