By Amber Pavucsko, Staff Writer
What do you do if your $1,500 electronic device breaks? Maybe you try to fix it yourself to save some money,[1]but you need a special screwdriver to open it up.[2] So, you buy the screwdriver, but realize the device’s battery needs to be replaced after it has been removed.[3] You find out a 50¢ chip has stopped working, so you look to buy that online, only to find out that the company refuses to supply the part to the public.[4] Now your $1,500 device is worthless. These problems are not uncommon as modern electronics are purposefully designed to not be repairable,[5] with the problem only getting worse.[6]
In response, a movement known as “the right to repair” has been gaining traction in the United States. The New York Times notes four ways policy advocates, have championed the right to repair by promoting that: (1) consumers have reasonable access to manuals, (2) companies make tools and parts available, (3) users should be allowed to install custom software updates, and (4) companies should accommodate repair in the design of the device.[7] At least twenty-seven states and the U.S. House of Representatives have introduced related bills in the last year.[8] President Biden has also issued an executive order to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) urging it to enact right to repair policies.[9] Currently, advocates argue that the right to repair is under attack in Pennsylvania since a bill is being considered in both houses during the 2021-2022 session.[10]
Right to repair legislation usually covers the New York Times’ first two categories, and Pennsylvania is no exception. Both bills generally require manufacturers make tools, manuals, and parts available to consumers.[11]Although repair shops and consumers advocate strongly for these types of changes, many manufacturers have been opposed to the bill.
Opponents to the laws argue that by providing manuals to consumers, intellectual property rights become infringed. Technet, an industry trade group, asserts that “forcing manufacturers to provide unrestricted access to digital keys and intellectual property will diminish creativity and threaten innovation.” Furthermore, they argue that having access to manuals, tools, and parts could jeopardize the safety and security of devices “and put them at risk for fraud and data theft.” Lastly, allowing consumers, who are unfamiliar with how these devices operated could make repairs dangerous.[12]
In response, the FTC has concluded that “the assertion of IP rights does not appear to be a significant impediment to independent repair.”[13] In general, intellectual property law helps create competition and promotes innovation.[14]But as the FTC notes, it can also be used to stifle competition, restrict repairs, and lead to excessive waste.[15] Existing copyright, patent, and trade secret laws signal support of the right to repair.[16] Furthermore, “considerations supporting repair . . . can nevertheless be accounted for, and woven into, intellectual property law and policymaking in a manner that preserves a space for a right to repair.”[17] For cybersecurity concerns, the FTC notes that manufacturers can provide the same materials as they do to authorized service providers.[18] In general, cybersecurity experts don’t believe allowing consumers and third parties to more easily repair devices will lead to hacking or cybersecurity threats.[19]
Safety concerns in consumers and third-party shops continue to stall right to repair legislation.[20] However, both the FTC and legislatures have argued that not only is there not enough factual information to support this, the same argument was rejected in legislation for automotive repairs.[21] Society has also rejected this idea and continues to repair their vehicles and send them to third-party shops, even when vehicles are arguably more dangerous than electronic devices.[22]
Although 34 states have considered right to repair legislation, with the FTC starting to help state legislatures,[23] a majority have not enacted legislation.[24] Despite this, companies like Apple and Microsoft have responded to criticisms and have enacted changes.[25] Accordingly, if Pennsylvania was one of the first few states to enact legislation, it could reshape the nation.[26]
[1] https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-the-right-to-repair-might-save-your-gadgetsand-save-you-money-11630324800 (a water-damaged three-year-old MacBook pro cost $999 to repair at Apple’s repair shop).
[2] Many electronic devices these days require special tips on screwdrivers. See, e.g., https://www.ifixit.com/News/14279/apples-diabolical-plan-to-screw-your-iphone; https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Nintendo+Switch+Teardown/78263.
[3] https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Retina+Display+Mid+2014+Trackpad+Replacement/27850(“Do not reuse the battery after it has been removed, as doing so is a potential safety hazard. Replace it with a new battery.”).
[4] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/electronics-product-repair-manufacturers/; https://www.ifixit.com/News/1349/how-nikon-is-killing-camera-repair
[5] https://www.wired.com/story/copyright-law-is-bricking-your-game-console-time-to-fix-that/ (Sony and Microsoft pair their disc readers with the console’s motherboard); https://uspirg.org/blogs/blog/usp/illegal-warranty-voiding-highlights-need-ftc-action (illegally telling consumers their warranty is void if they don’t use specific repair services).
[6] https://coloradosun.com/2019/10/01/consumer-gadgets-are-getting-harder-to-fix-and-thats-creating-a-disposable-culture/
[7] https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/blog/what-is-right-to-repair/
[8] https://www.cityandstatepa.com/content/bipartisan-supports-builds-rules-around-right-repair; https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/some-electronics-repairs-are-illegal-federal-law-could-change-that/; https://www.ifixit.com/News/56976/freedom-to-repair-act
[9] https://www.ifixit.com/News/56823/joe-biden-says-you-should-have-a-right-to-repair
[10]https://pennsylvania.repair.org/?utm_campaign=action_banner (pages on iFixit have a banner at the bottom that states “Your right to repair is under attack!” The banner leads to more information);https://www.legis.state.pa.us/CFDOCS/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?syear=2021&sInd=0&body=H&type=B&bn=1152; https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billinfo/billinfo.cfm?syear=2021&sind=0&body=S&type=B&bn=0998; https://nextpittsburgh.com/features/pennsylvania-considering-a-bill-to-give-the-right-to-repair-to-consumers-small-businesses/
[11]https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billinfo/billinfo.cfm?syear=2021&sind=0&body=S&type=B&bn=0998
[12] https://www.marketwatch.com/story/right-to-repair-law-may-run-into-the-changing-definition-of-ownership-11633108731
[13] Nixing the Fix: An FTC Report to Congress on Repair Restrictions,
Federal Trade Commission, 1, 24 (May 2021), https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/reports/nixing-fix-ftc-report-congress-repair-restrictions/nixing_the_fix_report_final_5521_630pm-508_002.pdf.
[14] Id. at 10.
[15] Id. at 10, 22, 42.
[16] See id. at 26.
[17] Grinvald & Tur-Sinai, supra note 12, at 69.
[18] Nixing the Fix: An FTC Report to Congress on Repair Restrictions, supra note 14, at 31.
[19] https://www.clm.com/right-to-repair-legislation-advances-in-new-york-and-elsewhere/; https://www.wired.com/story/right-to-repair-security-experts-california/
[20] Grinvald & Tur-Sinai, supra note 12, at 80–81.
[21] Nixing the Fix: An FTC Report to Congress on Repair Restrictions, supra note 14, at 28–29.
[22] Id. at 29.
[23] https://www.repair.org/legislation
[24] https://www.clm.com/right-to-repair-legislation-advances-in-new-york-and-elsewhere/
[25] https://fortune.com/2021/07/09/right-to-repair-order-biden-apple-tesla-hacks/
[26] https://nextpittsburgh.com/features/pennsylvania-considering-a-bill-to-give-the-right-to-repair-to-consumers-small-businesses/
