Why We Must Fight For the Right To Repair Our Electronics (ieee.org)

Kyle Wiens and Gay Gordon-Byrne explain via IEEE Spectrum how people in the United States can preserve their right to repair electronics, and why people must fight for the right in the first place. Here's an excerpt from their report: So how can people in the United States preserve their right to repair electronics? The answer is now apparent: through right-to-repair legislation enacted at the state level. Popular support on this issue has been clear since 2012, when 86 percent of the voters in Massachusetts endorsed a ballot initiative that would "[require] motor vehicle manufacturers to allow vehicle owners and independent repair facilities in Massachusetts to have access to the same vehicle diagnostic and repair information made available to the manufacturers' Massachusetts dealers and authorized repair facilities." Carmakers howled in protest, but after the law passed, they decided not to fight independent repair. Indeed, in January 2014 they entered into a national memorandum of understanding [PDF], voluntarily extending the terms of the Massachusetts law to the entire country. The commercial vehicle industry followed suit in October 2015. Now we need right-to-repair legislation for other kinds of equipment, too, particularly electronic equipment, which is the focus of "digital right to repair" initiatives in many states.

Similar to the Massachusetts legislation for automobiles, these digital-right-to-repair proposals would require manufacturers to provide access to service documentation, tools, firmware, and diagnostic programs. They also would require manufacturers to sell replacement parts to consumers and independent repair facilities at reasonable prices. The bills introduced this year in a dozen states have some variations. The ones in Kansas and Wyoming, for example, are limited to farm equipment. The one most likely to be adopted soon is in Massachusetts, which seeks to outlaw the monopoly on repair parts and information within the state. If it passes, electronics manufacturers will probably change their practices nationwide. Consumers would then have more choices when something breaks. The next time your smartphone screen cracks, your microwave oven gets busted, or your TV dies, you may be able to get it fixed quickly, affordably, and fairly. And you, not the manufacturer, would decide where your equipment is repaired: at home, with the manufacturer, or at a local repair shop that you trust.

Comments

More regulation is bad for business

[guruevi]

Regulation like this would be wholly unnecessary if we instead allowed small manufacturers to compete honestly in the market.

Through regulation and taxation, of which this is only a small part of, only really big companies can afford to bring products to market.

If this were such a problem, people would be buying more repairable machines. I myself havenâ(TM)t needed a âoerightâ to repair anything and I work with Apple products almost exclusively. I know how to repair MacBooks, iPads and even iPhones, where to get spare parts. Iâ(TM)m not a mechanic but I have a fairly modern VW, I bring it to an independent, small business garage and he can fix it in less time and cheaper than the dealership.

I donâ(TM)t know what people are whining about, we have protections in place nobody is enforcing. If you want a right to repair of Androids, sue the manufacturer for violations of GPL - Samsung, Amlogic, ... all of them are grossly violating your existing right to the existing code under existing protections.