‘Right To Repair’ Reform Passes CA State Senate, 38-0

Policy

from the fix-your-own-stuff dept

Reform efforts aimed at making it easier and more affordable to repair technology you bought and paid for continue to see progress. California’s SB 244 this week passed in the California State Senate with a vote of 38-0, a notable retort to the lobbyists that had been trying to kill the bill:

The bill still needs to pass the State Assembly, but activists tell me they feel good about their chances given this unanimous vote.

SB 244 (Right to Repair Act) requires that every manufacturer of consumer technology products make repair documentation, parts, and tools available to consumer and independent repair shops on “fair and reasonable terms.” The goal: lower consumer costs and annoyance, and reduce environmental waste.

Nathan Proctor, Director of PIRG’s right to repair campaign, says lobbyists had been working hard to kill the bill, to no avail:

“Manufacturers thought they could distract us with half measures, with MOU “pinky swear” agreements … all while their political machine tried to paint us Right to Repair advocates as ne’er do wells, sketchy weirdos. It didn’t work.”

There were some concessions made to get the bill to this point. SB244 doesn’t include technology like game consoles, where repair monopolization by Sony and Microsoft has been common. It also only applies to consumer products, which excludes a whole bunch of sectors (medical, agricultural) where the problem is every bit as bad. And the bill only applies to products sold after July 2021.

Still, progress is progress.

Companies from Apple to John Deere have worked fairly tirelessly to try and find ways to frame right to repair as dangerous to consumer safety and privacy, with the auto industry even going so far as to falsely claim that such reform would aid sexual predators. In some states, like New York and Minnesota, lobbyists had notable luck watering down protections either before or after bill passage.

Still, the progress on right to repair reform is remarkable, and one of the few bright spots in the otherwise grim state of competent U.S. consumer protection reform.

Filed Under: california, consumer protection, freedom to rinker, independent repair shops, repair monopoly, right to repair, SB244

Lobbyists Descend On California To Scuttle Right To Repair Efforts

Policy

from the fix-your-shit dept

While U.S. consumer protection is generally a hot mess, one promising bright spot continues to be the bipartisan traction seen on right to repair issues. For decades, tech giants across numerous sectors have attempted to monopolize repair, making it harder and more expensive to repair things you own due to repair center consolidation, annoying DRM, and hard to find manuals and tools.

That’s finally starting to change, with heavy pushes for right to repair laws on both the state and federal level. And while we’ve seen numerous successes, tech giant lobbyists have been attempting to counter the movement with no shortage of lies about how right to repair laws will make the public dramatically less safe and/or embolden sexual predators.

In California, State Senator Susan Talamantes Eggman of Stockton has sponsored SB 244, a law that would require every manufacturer of an electronic or appliance product to provide documentation and functional parts and tools “on fair and reasonable terms.” The goal: less expensive and more convenient tech repair options and less overall waste.

Such laws have massive, bipartisan support among the public. A Politico/Morning Consult poll last year found that 69% of registered voters support the right to repair, a number that jumps to 75 percent in tech-centric California.

But to survive, the law has to survive massive lobbying opposition from California-based tech companies keen on fattening their wallets by making independent repair difficult and expensive. Tech giants, including Apple and Google, have successfully helped kill several previous popular versions of this same bill:

“Tech lobbyists have a huge presence in California,” Elizabeth Chamberlain, the sustainability director of the repair company IFixit, tells me, “and we know that the closer this bill gets to passing, the more they’ll be working overtime.” 

Even if you get a bill passed that’s often not the end of the fight. While New York State recently passed right to repair legislation with overwhelming public support, Governor Kathy Hochul immediately set about effectively lobotomizing the bill at industry behest shortly after it was passed.

Still, the momentum remains on the side of the public and reformers. The more companies try to monopolize repair and fight reform, the more annoyed the public gets, and the more public traction the movement seems to obtain.

Some companies, like Microsoft, appear to have realized they’re fighting a losing battle and started supporting such laws. Others, like John Deere, seem to think they can bullshit their way around this impasse by pretending to support right to repair. But countless other companies, especially in sectors like medical care, have only doubled down on all of their worst impulses.

Filed Under: california, consumer rights, drm, environmental waste, freedom to tinker, right to repair, SB244