Firms have begun to take action following the victory of the Right to Repair movement, which advocates for the freedom of owners to repair everything from smartphones to tractors.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Digital Fair Repair Act into law in the final days of 2022, making the Empire State the “first state in the nation to guarantee the right to repair.” On January 8, John Deere signed a memorandum of understanding with the American Farm Bureau Federation to “improve Farmers’ ability to timely control the lawful operation and upkeep of Agricultural Equipment.” In the meantime, both Apple and Samsung have recently expanded their self-service repair programs to include more devices.
In addition, state legislatures have begun introducing a slew of new repair bills in recent weeks as part of efforts to provide consumers with tools, parts, and access to their tech tools internals.
Despite these victories for the Right to Repair movement, tech companies have long claimed that opening up devices could reduce performance, expose company secrets, reduce cybersecurity protections, or endanger customer safety.
The sources for this piece include an article in Axios.