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Lobbyists Demonize 'Right To Repair' Legislation (securityledger.com)
"New Hampshire lawmakers got an early taste last week of the arguments that manufacturing, technology and telecommunications lobbyists will use to try to hobble and defeat right to repair legislation in 16 states this year," writes long-time Slashdot reader chicksdaddy.
The Security Ledger reports: Curious children could find themselves dismembered by run-away washing machines. A phalanx of illegally modified lawn tractors and leaf blowers will belch pollution in defiance of the EPA, darkening the sky... At least, that's the scene painted by representatives from some of the U.S.'s biggest industry groups. At a hearing before the New Hampshire House of Representatives Committee on Commerce and Consumer Affairs February 5, they painted a dire picture of the consequences of passing a proposed Digital Fair Repair Act, HB 462, saying the proposed legislation would stifle commerce, leave New Hampshire consumers vulnerable to cyber crime and even physical harm at the hands of clueless owners and inexperienced or unethical repair professionals.
"There is a lot at stake when it comes to Right to Repair, and you could feel those stakes in the room," wrote Nathan Proctor, the head of the right to repair campaign at the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), in an email statement. "Legislators have their work cut out for them sifting through all the frantic opposition and their deceptive, and at times bizarre, arguments," he wrote.
HB 462 would require original equipment manufacturers that do business in New Hampshire to make the same documentation, parts and tools available to device owners and independent repair professionals as they make available to their licensed or "authorized" repair professionals. Similarly, documentation, tools, and parts needed to reset product (software) locks or digital right management functions following maintenance and repair would also need to be made available to owners and independent repair professionals on "fair and reasonable terms."
The Security Ledger reports: Curious children could find themselves dismembered by run-away washing machines. A phalanx of illegally modified lawn tractors and leaf blowers will belch pollution in defiance of the EPA, darkening the sky... At least, that's the scene painted by representatives from some of the U.S.'s biggest industry groups. At a hearing before the New Hampshire House of Representatives Committee on Commerce and Consumer Affairs February 5, they painted a dire picture of the consequences of passing a proposed Digital Fair Repair Act, HB 462, saying the proposed legislation would stifle commerce, leave New Hampshire consumers vulnerable to cyber crime and even physical harm at the hands of clueless owners and inexperienced or unethical repair professionals.
"There is a lot at stake when it comes to Right to Repair, and you could feel those stakes in the room," wrote Nathan Proctor, the head of the right to repair campaign at the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), in an email statement. "Legislators have their work cut out for them sifting through all the frantic opposition and their deceptive, and at times bizarre, arguments," he wrote.
HB 462 would require original equipment manufacturers that do business in New Hampshire to make the same documentation, parts and tools available to device owners and independent repair professionals as they make available to their licensed or "authorized" repair professionals. Similarly, documentation, tools, and parts needed to reset product (software) locks or digital right management functions following maintenance and repair would also need to be made available to owners and independent repair professionals on "fair and reasonable terms."
Anyone who doesn't know what they're doing could injure themselves in countless ways. But I still have the choice to change the brakes on a car myself, if I'm confident I can do the job. Otherwise, I can go down the street and pay a mechanic to do it. In no event do I need Ford or GM's permission to touch the brakes. If I own a car I can do whatever I want with it.
Too many companies want to make everyone a renter instead of an owner, and use the government as a weapon to enforce their shitty business models.
So the predictable actions of a small percentage of consumers should be extrapolated to the general population? Ask the lawmakers if we should ban:
....
gasoline because everybody will put it in baggies and huff it
bananas because everybody will dry the peeling and smoke it
automobiles because everybody will use them as weapons of mass destruction
electricity because everybody will use it on salt water to make chlorine gas
yada yada
It's so blatantly obvious that the lobbyists are not lobbying for the health and well being of normal citizens that even a politician could see it.
Wait
Good lord! How many of us didn't screw around and modify crap when we were kids? I did! I took pretty much everything apart I could get my hands on when I was a kid. Gee, LOBBYIST don't want US to repair our OWN things. Granted, if you buy something on a lease/loan, "technically" it is still their device or product, but by God, if I buy it, own it, I'll do as I please!
You absolutely should be allowed to modify the Autosteer software on a Tesla. Whether or not you should be allowed on the road with those modifications is another question, just like if you make physical modifications to your car.
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
These guys are purposely conflating repair with modification.
Yeah I'm with that other anon, an e-reader with a real e-ink screen is the next best thing to a real book. Sometimes better, in my experience. I've tried reading books on computer screens, laptops, and phones, even a DS Lite, and no LCD compares with e-ink. My old ereader fit in my left hand and I could change pages with a thumb swipe (new one is a bit too bulky for that unfortunately) and I can't tell you how fabulous it is to read a book one handed. No pressing on pages to flatten, easy to read in my side in bed, and modern ones come with backlighting for comfortable night reading. My new one is waterproof, and I've taken it into the bathtub several times. Marvellous! Not necessary of course, but very nice nonetheless.