from the this-is-why-we-can't-have-nice-things dept.
Activists Blast NY Governor Hochul For Screwing up State's Right To Repair Efforts:
The good news: New York State recently passed landmark right to repair legislation that should improve consumer access to independent repair options. The bad news: despite passing the state assembly 147–2 and the senate 59–4, lobbyists managed to convince NY Governor Kathy Hochul to dramatically water down the legislation before it was passed, rendering it largely useless.
[...] Paul Roberts is the founder of SecuRepairs, a coalition of IT and cybersecurity professionals who advocate for consumers' right to repair. In an op-ed over in the Times Union, he lambasts Hochul for falling victim to industry's claims that improved repair options and more transparent access to tools and documentation poses a threat to U.S. consumers:
As they have done on the road to burying more than 100 proposed pieces of repair legislation in 40 states since 2014, anti-repair groups argued – without evidence – that such information, if made available to owners and independent repair providers, would lead to cyberattacks and the theft of consumer data.
Had the governor and her staff had no other information to guide them in making their decision, we might forgive them for erring on the side of caution. But the governor and her staff knew that the manufacturers' arguments were bogus. I should know: My group told them.
The original Digital Fair Repair Act required that manufacturers that already provide security codes and passwords to their authorized repair providers to also provide them at a reasonable price to the owners of covered devices and to independent repair providers.
Industry has long claimed that manufacturer-authorized repair options are more reliable and secure than independent repairs or repairs carried out by technology owners. Hochul bowed to these concerns, despite a recent FTC report making it clear these claims are completely false. Worse, non-transparent repair options make it more likely security threats won't be noticed before they're a problem.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 24 2023, @08:17PM (6 children)
Why does everybody keep on complaining about the people/party they're just going to reelect anyway?
(Score: 1, Offtopic) by Opportunist on Tuesday January 24 2023, @09:05PM (5 children)
If there was a real alternative, people would maybe take it. But if you live in a bad neighborhood and the big choice you have is what gang and their cronies are allowed to fleece you, you eventually stop bothering. Sure, it's very important for the gangs who are the ones allowed to fleece you, but do you really care?
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Tuesday January 24 2023, @11:19PM (4 children)
I mean, people don't get to vote on what kind of Gang will be running their neighborhood. Otherwise, they might just do that. In the event that one Gang is more likely to make and kill vs the other. I mean, there's reasons to stay in the game as it were. Even with politics, even, if you feel like your voice isn't hear. As it's all based on the people. Sure, they may be clueless for the most part and easily manipulated, but at least the people at the top must do the song and dance.
https://winstonchurchill.org/resources/quotes/the-worst-form-of-government/ [winstonchurchill.org]
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Tuesday January 24 2023, @11:41PM
That was supposed to be "maim and kill".
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by Opportunist on Wednesday January 25 2023, @12:34AM
But that's the thing, for you, the difference is barely noticeable if it's this or that gang. Of course, for the gangs, the difference means everything because for them it's either being allowed to fleece you or to not be allowed to do so, but for you, the outcome is the same.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 25 2023, @02:51AM (1 child)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 25 2023, @04:58AM
Which is exactly why the Founding Fathers founded a republic.
I could envision a system that gives each person voting points that correspond to IQ points, probably on a logarithmic scale. We sure don't vote for the smartest among us, maybe it would help.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday January 24 2023, @09:06PM (4 children)
Kathy Hochul doesn't need numbers, facts, or science. All she needs are wealthy lobbyists.
https://www.dailywire.com/news/i-dont-need-to-have-numbers-kathy-hochul-blows-off-facts-claims-concealed-carry-makes-new-yorkers-less-safe [dailywire.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 24 2023, @11:36PM (1 child)
Ultimately I don't get it. If I was a governor, or anyone in decision-making capacity, I consider the motivation behind the various opinions.
Corporations are soulless entities that mostly care about PROFIT. If they ever act like they're doing a good thing, it's only to improve PR and, yep, PROFIT.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by khallow on Wednesday January 25 2023, @01:21AM
What's hard to get? She monetized the position. No doubt she and her cronies will get kickbacks of various sorts for successfully obstructing the bill.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 24 2023, @11:39PM (1 child)
Democrat Hochul sides with the corporations. Not what I think of as democracy. Is she really a Republican? Has a MAGA hat under the desk?
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Mykl on Wednesday January 25 2023, @07:38AM
Both the Rs and the Ds have been in corporations' pockets for decades. She absolutely does not need to be a Republican to be on the payroll of big business.
The US urgently needs to fix campaign financing and lobbyist laws. Guess what? Those who are in charge of making those changes would be disadvantaged, so it will never happen. The only other avenue would be to appeal to their sense of justice, propriety and duty to the citizenry. Yeah, good luck with that. (I should note that these actually do work in some other countries, but not in a system as broken as the US).
(Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 24 2023, @09:55PM (2 children)
https://fighttorepair.substack.com/p/ny-governor-bows-to-big-tech-signs [substack.com]
Gay Gordon Byrne, Executive Director of The Repair Coalition
Nathan Proctor, Senior Right to Repair Campaign Director at US PIRG
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 25 2023, @01:57PM (1 child)
You do know that's his name, right?
https://www.linkedin.com/in/gay-gordon-byrne-b167855 [linkedin.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 25 2023, @02:00PM
I guess I should have read the headline.