SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
California legislators are considering drafting laws that would make it easier to fix things. It is now the 18th state in the US trying to make it easier to repair or modify things, electronic or not.
Right to repair legislation has considerable momentum this year; 18 states have introduced it, and several states have held hearings about the topic. In each of these states, big tech companies such as Apple, Microsoft, John Deere, and AT&T and trade associations they're associated with have heavily lobbied against it, claiming that allowing people to fix their things would cause safety and security concerns. Thus far, companies have been unwilling to go on the record to explain the specifics about how these bills would be dangerous or would put device and consumer security in jeopardy.
It's particularly notable that the battle has come to California because many of the companies that have fought against it are headquartered there. Apple, for instance, told lawmakers in Nebraska that passing a right to repair bill there would turn the state into a "Mecca for hackers." The Electronic Frontier Foundation—which is notoriously concerned about digital security—has explicitly backed this legislation in California. Kit Walsh, a senior staff attorney for the EFF, said that the bill "helps preserve the right of individual device owners to understand and fix their property."
Yep. Hackers. And note that is what Apple does not want. Like many things this boils down to the issue of who controls the many computers you ostensibly own.
From Motherboard at vice.com: The Right to Repair Battle Has Come to Silicon Valley.
(Score: 0, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 09 2018, @12:29PM (5 children)
... to buy from a company that makes easily reparable equipment.
"THERE SHOULD BE A LAW!!!!1111"
(Score: 5, Informative) by Runaway1956 on Friday March 09 2018, @02:46PM
Yeah, there should be a law. In fact, when a "rights holder" wants a new law, he generally runs to the state capital, or maybe the national capital, fornicates with a few lawmakers, gets them drunk, high, and gives them reelection money - and he gets his law. Disney, Hollywierd, the record labels, John Deere, and so very many more.
Maybe if you were up in arms against all the paid-for laws, your position would make more sense.
Alternative für Deutschland
(Score: 2) by ants_in_pants on Friday March 09 2018, @06:33PM (3 children)
Are you against the idea of having full control over the things you own? Isn't that a core component of lolbertarian ideology?
-Love, ants_in_pants
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 10 2018, @03:43PM (1 child)
In the libertarian ideal world, if you didn't like one company treated their customers, you would buy from someone else. If enough people did this, then companies that treated their customers poorly would go out of business. No laws needed.
Of course, what happens is you end up with a cartel or a straight-up monopoly, and there is no competition because the incumbents use their weight and position in the market to squash any newcomers they don't like.
Though to be fair the libertarians, we don't live in a libertarian society, and often the laws are designed to the incumbents benefit.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 10 2018, @10:04PM
I believe in a lot of libertarian ideals, but the full libertarian ideal just doesn't work. If you dismantle an agency in the government, in order for it to stay dismantled you need the populace to keep voting against its return. That doesn't happen. The 19th century US tried to be libertarian, but in practice the robber barons just went on a shopping spree and bought the local politicians and law enforcement officers. Then the robber barons did whatever the hell they wanted.
The parent post writer thinks the free market should be enough to solve the DRM problem, if it's important enough to be solved. Nonsense. My kids' public school is loaded with Windows, Apple, and Google products - how many of those children are going to grow up with any appreciation for EFF causes? The big players have already bought their way into the education system.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 10 2018, @04:34PM
he just wants the right to disagree with people so that he gains the satisfaction of seeing their displeasure in any replies they make. or anyone else replying for that matter.
not quite a troll. its like he got picked on before so hes going to do it to everyone equally if he can, due to the unfairness of it all. he is at least consistent