The European Commission has been pushing for a single charging method for mobile devices for over a decade. The commission was doing so by encouraging tech vendors to voluntarily adopt a single charging standard. However, it seems like the European Commission is now looking at a legislative approach.

Some members of European Parliament have urged the European Commission to take regulatory action to force every smartphone vendor to adopt a single charging method. In a statement following the debated, Commissioner Maros Sefcovic said that the commission plans to consider a “legislative approach” to tackling the issue.

The European Commission plans to hold a vote on the matter at a later session. If the European lawmakers get their way, then companies like Apple will be forced to adopt USB Type-C port for charging iPhones and will have to drop the Lightning connector.

While not every smartphone maker has adopted a single charging method yet, the campaign has certainly worked in favor as the number of charger types have decreased from 30 in 2009 to just three — USB Type C, micro-USB, and Apple’s Lightning port.

In the debate, members of the European Parliament pointed how the tech industry is generating additional e-waste by maintaining various standards, which often saddles consumers with a mess of different cords and adapters.

While Apple has not responded to this recent development, the company had earlier said that a single charging port would “freeze innovation rather than encourage it.” The company had also said that forcing iPhones to switch to USB-C would render existing Lightning cables obsolete, and thus generate more e-waste.

(Via)

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