A trio of left-wing senators is pushing the Department of Commerce to follow the lead of the EU, which recently mandated that all mobile devices use the same kind of charger.
In a letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, Senators Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Ed Markey point to “the economic and environmental harm inflicted by the consumer electronics industry’s failure to establish uniform charging accessory standards — a shortcoming that requires consumers to frequently change their charging accessories.”
This is one of those issues in which I adamantly oppose government involvement in principle, yet would benefit in practice were it ever implemented. One case I would compare it to is smoking bans. On ideological grounds, I passionately oppose the idea of government forcing private businesses to bar patrons from smoking when customers have the option of taking their business elsewhere. But as a nonsmoker, in practice I have greatly appreciated the ability to go to a bar or restaurant without having my clothes smell like an ashtray when I get home.
As I write, I am sitting at a desk with a dedicated drawer for all these random charging devices, some of which are probably obsolete (but you never know), and some of which might charge something or other at some point.
How many different USB variations are there? Dozens? Why does there have to be a type A, B, and C? Why are mini and micro USBs two separate things? This of course doesn’t get into lightning chargers, or the various adapters that are required to make one charger or another usable.
I am sure there are legitimate arguments for why different chargers are needed to serve evolving electronic demands as well as design preferences. And on principle, I oppose the idea of the federal government meddling in such a manner. Just as, to this day, I still oppose smoking bans. But man, having to maintain a pile of charger spaghetti sure is annoying.