The Free Market started notifying sellers about the suspension of unauthorized mobile ads following the Federal Court of the Federal District’s rejection of Free Market’s injunction against Anatel’s decision banning the sale of uncertified smartphones.

Sellers are advised to take note.

Sellers who listed unapproved devices recently received ad cancellation notifications, such as the Realme Narzo 50 Dual Sim 128 Gb Speed Black 4 Gb Ram model, which was not authorized by Anatel.

Court ruling

The decision to remove unauthorized ads came after the judge of the 1st Civil Federal Court of the Federal District, Marcelo Gentil Monteiro, ruled that Anatel has the authority to oversee and stop the promotion of non-certified smartphones. He emphasized that Anatel is granted the ability by the General Telecommunications Law to establish regulations and certification criteria for telecom products and to supervise their usage.

Anatel has set stringent regulations to address the issue of illegal mobile phone sales in response to concerns raised by national manufacturers and the government. A recent study found that 25% of mobile phones being sold in Brazil do not meet the required standards. The agency has instructed e-commerce websites, including Free Market, Amazon, Americans.com, Carrefour, Casas Bahia, Magazine Luiza, and Shopee, to take down advertisements for mobile phones that have not been approved.

Companies have a grace period of fifteen days to adjust to the new rules, during which they can have up to 10% of non-compliant ads. Failure to comply after this period may lead to fines up to R $ 6 million.

Market impact

The Free Market is advising its sellers to adapt to new standards to avoid penalties following Anatel’s directive. Importing products is becoming more challenging for consumers due to the decline in the sale of imported cell phones by Remessa. Additionally, the Federal Government will now oversee all sales.