There is growing pressure on manufacturers round the world to permit consumers the proper to repair their own devices.
The UK has introduced right-to-repair rules that legally require manufacturers to form spare parts available to people buying electrical appliances.
The European Commission has announced plans for right-to-repair rules for smartphones, tablets and laptops.
And later in the week , US President Joe Biden is predicted to sign an executive order asking the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to draw up rules on the repair of farming equipment.
‘Safety risk’
It would give farmers “the right to repair their own equipment how they like”, the president’s press secretary, Jen Psaki, said.
And some expect the principles to travel further and absorb consumer electronic devices like phones or game consoles.
Tractor manufacturer Deere is among those that opposed the thought , saying it posed a security risk.
It has also been opposed by technology giants like Amazon, Apple and Microsoft, which impose limits on who can repair phones and game consoles and say independent repair could affect the safety and safety of devices.
Passed in 2013, the Massachusetts legislation requires vehicle manufacturers to supply diagnostic and repair information to owners and independent repair facilities for any car made in 2015 or later.
As a result, most carmakers agreed to use this rule across the US, even without it being a requirement within the remaining 49 states.
But in June, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents General Motors, Fiat Chrysler et al. , started a legal bid to dam revisions to the law that might require expanded access to mechanical and electronic repair data.
Opening up data could create a serious cyber-security risk to vehicles, it said.
And putting information about car parts during a centralised location would offer a target for attackers.
The focus of the right-to-repair movement varies by state, with places like Florida and South Carolina concentrating on agriculture-related legislation, while California’s cares with medical equipment.
Some companies have said sharing information will violate their property (IP).
But the FTC seemed to dismiss those concerns during a report, which concluded: “The assertion of IP rights doesn’t appear to be a big impediment to independent repair.”
Other companies also cite safety as a problem , saying consumers or independent repair workers might be injured “fixing a product or using an improperly repaired product”.
The 2021 legislative session is over within the US, which suggests most unfinished proposed bills won’t become law.
But in ny , the proposed Fair Repair Act, which needs manufactures to form diagnostic and repair information of any product available, passed the state’s senate.