Texas Will Soon Be The 9th State To Pass A Popular ‘Right To Repair’ Law
from the fix-your-own-shit dept
While U.S. consumer protection is generally an historic hot mess right now, the “right to repair” movement — making it easier and cheaper to repair the things you own — continues to make steady inroads thanks to widespread, bipartisan annoyance at giant companies trying to monopolize repair in creative and obnoxious ways.
Washington State just became the eighth state to pass a new law theoretically making it easier and cheaper to repair the technology you own. Now, barring a veto from Governor Abbott, Texas is poised to be the ninth state to do so after the State’s new right to repair law (HB2963) passed a vote in a the Texas state Senate last week 31-0. That comes after the House passed the legislation 126-0.
Again, this movement continues to make inroads because anti-consumer repair monopolies annoy everybody. Unlike many consumer reform efforts, companies haven’t had much success (yet) scaring the public away from “right to repair” reforms, despite a lot of scary (and false) claims about how such laws pose a risk to consumer security and privacy or aid sexual predators.
Texas’s new law requires manufacturers to make spare parts, manuals and repair tools available to consumers and independent shops. Consumer groups and “right to repair” advocates are unsurprisingly excited:
“When you can’t fix something, you either have to buy a new one or do without. It drives up waste and costs. People are tired of throwing away things they prefer to fix, and clearly this is a message that has gotten through to lawmakers,” said Nathan Proctor, PIRG’s Senior Right to Repair Campaign Director. “Congratulations to Rep. Capriglione for his excellent work standing up for the rights of product owners, and the small repair shops all across Texas. This is a Texas-sized win.”
This is definite progress, and I hate to be a buzzkill, but it’s worth reiterating that of the 8 states that have passed right to repair reforms so far, not a single one has actually enforced them in any meaningful way. This despite no shortage of bad corporate actors working overtime to kill independent repair shops, make manuals and parts hard to find, use obnoxious DRM, or claim that repairing your own stuff violates warranty.
Many states are facing unprecedented legal and financial challenges thanks to new Trump-triggered legal fights across everything from environmental law to healthcare. As a result most states aren’t going to be keen to launch costly new legal battles against deep-pocketed corporations.
Republican states like Texas, in particular, aren’t likely to say…start picking meaningful new fights with Apple or Sony. That runs in pretty stark contrast to the central Republican mission to effectively demolish whatever’s left of regulatory independence, consumer protection, and corporate oversight. They like to pick fights with “big tech,” but only in a bid to bully them into doing nothing about racist propaganda.
At some point at least a portion of the activism calories spent passing these right to repair laws needs to be redirected to yelling at states to actually enforce them, if the overall movement itself is to have any actual meaning and the laws are seen as anything more than populist set dressing.
Filed Under: antitrust, consumers, hardware, monopoly, right to repair, software, texas, tinker
Comments on “Texas Will Soon Be The 9th State To Pass A Popular ‘Right To Repair’ Law”
Seems like the texas law is mostly smoke and mirrors as it excludes most things.
Wow, so happy for the 10s of people that will take advantage of this stupid legislation.
Texas right to repair is a joke
it does not apply to:
(1) information technology equipment that is intended for use in critical infrastructure
(2) a motor vehicle manufacturer who (….bullsh**ts..);
(3) a powersports vehicle or outboard motor;
(4) a medical device or product (A) found in a medical setting, including diagnostic, monitoring, or control equipment; or (B) offered for purchase or prescribed by a health care provider;
(5) a manufacturer of farm equipment who (….bulls**ts…)
(6) aerospace, airplane, or train equipment;
(7) heavy equipment;
(8) commercial and industrial electrical equipment, including power distribution equipment, such as telecommunications network infrastructure, commercial visual display equipment, medium/low voltage switchgear and transformers, power control equipment, such as medium/low voltage motor control and drives, power quality equipment, such as uninterruptible power supplies, remote power panels, power distribution units and static/transfer switches, and any tools, technology, attachments, accessories, components, and repair parts for any of the equipment described by this subdivision,
(9) a home appliance that (….)
(10) safety communications equipment
(11) fire alarm systems, intrusion detection equipment that is provided with a security monitoring service, life safety systems, and physical access control equipment, including electronic keypads and similar building access control electronics;
(12) a video game console;
(13) an original equipment manufacturer that provides an equivalent or better, readily available replacement part at no charge to and only at the discretion of the consumer
hint: a laptop can easily be described as either an “appliance” or tool that can be used as a commercial equipment. Or a medical device/product because doctors often use laptops on their desks.
q.e.d. no right to repair for laptops.
Re: Short list please
Of things it can be used for.
Dont forget that 90% of Kitchen hardware has a computer in it.
Manual Egg beaters dont count.
Any of the 30+ Can openers either.
THE ONLY reason to do this, is they THINK they are going to get PAID NOT TO PASS IT. AS if they havnt already been PAID to Write it.
Re:
“A video game console” is interesting, given that Sony apparently wanted the PlayStation 2 and 3 to be treated as “computers” rather than game systems. The common story is that “computer” was the more convenient legal classification for Sony, possibly on account of tariffs or other taxes, and that’s the only reason they let anyone run Linux on the systems. It makes me wonder whether there’s an actual legal test.
More performative legislation on the part of politicians protecting their seats instead of doing their fucking jobs for the betterment of society.
Re: They
Arnt good enough to be a Dog and pony show.