The European Parliament meets at the beginning of the week and one of the big points of debate is the standardization of charging cables for mobile tech devices, which was announced by the EU Commission 10 years ago, but which Apple successfully prevented through tough delaying tactics, enormous lobbying and exploitation of loopholes became.
Actually, the standardization of charging cables, not only for all cell phones but also for other electronic mobile devices such as tablets, should not be difficult for the European area; after all, all that would be necessary is for the EU to issue a directive. Nevertheless, the standardization of charging cables, planned for 2009, has dragged on for the last 10 years.
The rise and fluctuation of mobile devices shows how urgent the issue is, especially for environmental reasons. Cell phones are sometimes replaced every year and since even individual providers such as Apple use different charging cables within their product range, the purchase of a new charging cable is often unavoidable.
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Although the number of different charging cables has decreased since 2009, at that time there were over 30, but standardization would be a far-reaching step to avoid electronic waste.
According to an estimate by the EU Commission, more than 51,000 tons of electronic waste are generated every year from old chargers alone.
This enormous amount is caused on the one hand by the lack of standardization and, on the other hand, by the sometimes low load threshold and vulnerability of the respective charging cables.
Charging cable quality
The EU MPs are particularly annoyed that in 2009 all major tech companies published a joint declaration of intent to standardize their technical devices.
But over the last decade (according to a report by netzpolitik.org), Apple in particular has invested almost a million euros a year in lobbying to prevent the EU Commission from issuing the directive for mandatory standardization of charging cables.
The argument is that this is an obstacle to further innovation and that more electronic waste would be generated if all current chargers would have to be taken out of circulation in one fell swoop. In addition, the loophole was used in that the end plug for cell phones is different, but the adapter supplied has a USB port.
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However, the enforcement of (as it seems) such a simple regulation regarding chargers shows that in many cases the EU Commission in particular does not appear to be as dominant and authoritarian as many opponents accuse it of being, but often tries to use voluntary action and recommendations to encourage the economy to act in the interests of consumers.
Inconsistent
The EU Parliament is critical of this “voluntariness” and now wants to persuade the EU Commission to legislate standardization.
The spokesman for the European Consumer Association BEUC Frederico Silva also explained in an interview with the “EU Observer” that standardization of charging cables is in the interest of European consumers and that such a matter can only be achieved through legal coercion.
In summary, the debate about the standardization of chargers shows that the European Commission is often divided between the demand to enforce more matters through compulsory legal regulations and the criticism that the EU would intervene too heavily in the economy, individuality and scope of action of the economy and member states.
The fact is that electronic waste from discarded chargers could be avoided if mobile tech devices had the same charging connection.
However, it also shows that even in such superficially simple matters, where environmental and consumer protection meet corporate interests, a nerve-wracking tug-of-war can ensue that lasts for years.
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Author Alexander Herberstein; Item image charging cable by MIKHAIL GRACHIKOV / Shutterstock.com
Notes:
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