Ban on the sale of non-approved cell phones: Amazon and Mercado Livre go to court against Anatel

As we reported here, some retailers operating in Brazil may be fined by Anatel (National Telecommunications Agency) if they continued selling irregular cell phones. Term used for models that were tampered with, stolen, lost or that did not go through the approval process issued by the regulatory agency. According to data from Abinee (Brazilian Association of Electrical and Electronic Industry)around 25% of cell phones sold in Brazil are irregular.

Among the platforms mentioned by Anatel are Amazon e Free market. Anatel states that Amazon leads the list among the platforms with the most advertisements for unapproved devices (51.52%), followed by Mercado Livre (42.86%) and Americanas.com (22.86%). If these advertisements are maintained, exceeding an initial quota of a maximum of 10% of this type of advertisement, these sites may be fined up to R$6 million and may even be taken offline.

Platforms question that Anatel does not have the legal power to do so

Both Amazon and Mercado Livre They are already appealing to the courts against Anatel’s precautionary measure. According to the defense of the e-commerce giants, the regulatory agency would not have the legal power to act on retail trade. The companies also question the amount of the fines, which start at R$200,000 per day for stores that do not comply with the established rules.

According to Carlos Baigori, president of Anatel, irregular cell phones harm citizens, consumers and the marketin addition to also acting against government revenue. The executive also stated that companies stop investing in Brazil because of this.

The agency also highlights that it has the authority to approve and monitor the use of devices in Brazil, citing the General Telecommunications Law.

Amazon has already obtained a restraining order in its favor, issued by the São Paulo Court, suspending the precautionary measure published by Anatel on June 21. Mercado Livre is still awaiting the decision from the Brasília Court.