'Right to repair' gets strong pushback from tech industries

Photo by Mark Lennihan, The Associated Press

When "Right to repair" legislation passed in Colorado and New York in late 2022, the movement gained traction, but an uphill climb remains: "The tech industry, despite making some concessions, has maintained its furious opposition to the measures, making it difficult for tinkerers and small businesses to get instructions and components," reports Elaine Povich of Stateline. "Given the resistance from industry on broader actions and a last-minute effort last year that weakened the New York law, repair advocates are skeptical that new state laws will make much of a difference."

Movement leaders are trying to build on their limited successes to push right-to-repair legislation in other states. Nathan Proctor, a senior director at the Public Interest Research Group, a left-leaning advocacy group that has been a leader in the movement, told Stateline, "'There’s an inherent momentum in proof of concept when you get across the finish line." Stateline reports, "According to Proctor and other legislative trackers, bills have been introduced, or held over from last year, in 17 states, including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Washington."

Stateline notes: "A Consumer Reports survey conducted in 2021 found that 84% of the U.S. adults polled said they agreed with a policy that would require manufacturers to make repair information and parts available either to independent repairers or to product owners." In response, some manufactures have lessened their grip, "taking some limited steps toward allowing more self-repairs. Apple recently added more desktop Macs to the devices covered by its self-service repair program, for example, while Samsung did the same with certain phones and laptops . . . . but given the resistance from industry, repair advocates say manufacturers are trying to open loopholes."

Many tech-industry coalitions remain opposed to the movement's efforts. Chris Gilrein, Northeastern executive director for TechNet, told Stateline, "We still have concerns with the final legislation [in New York]. At its core, the law remains a state-mandated transfer of intellectual property that is unwarranted at a time when consumers have access to more repair options than ever before. We do not encourage other states to follow New York’s lead."

Elizabeth Chamberlain, director of sustainability at iFixit, an independent technology repair company, told Stateline that while momentum is building, the New York case shows that right to repair advocates need to be vigilant about all the legislation. “We recognize there will be narrowings [of legislation],” she said in a phone interview. “We are going to have to fight on.”