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Apple, Google & Microsoft Have Teamed up to Block the Right-to-Repair Law
Apple, Google & Microsoft Have Teamed up to Block the Right-to-Repair Law:
Bloomberg today released a report on how companies like Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google are working together to put a stop to laws that would make it necessary for companies to provide device schematics, genuine repair parts, and repair manuals to independent repair technicians.
Almost 27 states have considered the laws in 2021 alone, but in more than half of them, the laws have been voted down or dismissed. Many lobbyists and trade groups representing tech companies have fought hard against this law with Apple pointing out that such measures could lead to device damage or consumers harming themselves when attempting to repair their devices.
In Washington, for example, Washington House of Representatives Democrat Mia Gregerson sponsored a Right to Repair measure that was fought by Microsoft, Google, Amazon, along with lobbyists representing Apple. Lobbyists later said that Apple would endorse repair programs at local colleges if the bill was dropped.
Also at Bloomberg and MacRumors.
See also: Leaked Apple Documents Inadvertently Helped the Right-to-Repair Movement
Louis Rossmann Starts a GoFundMe to Get "Right to Repair" Legistation Passed Through a Direct Ballot
Summary Louis Rossmann, electronics repairman and YouTuber, has started a nonprofit and GoFundMe campaign to fight to get right to repair legislation passed through direct ballot initiatives. For years Louis has talked about the importance of right to repair and how it has become more difficult t...
Right to repair series - Louis Rossmann
In this series he specifically explains why we need better right to repair laws.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyM7FxEaShI
Original Submission #1 Original Submission #2 Original Submission #3
(Score: 5, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 21 2021, @06:41PM (1 child)
There is a world of difference between "I can't fix this because I don't have the tools or the skills to do it" and "I can't fix this because the supplier is contractually obligated to not sell replacement chips to me."
Right to repair is all about issues like the latter.
(Score: 2) by looorg on Friday May 21 2021, @11:13PM
Yes that is a valid point, if anything repairs should actually almost be easier cause now a lot of it has become -- hook up diagnostics unit/harness to machine, press button, unit tells you to replace faulty component X. Replace and done, hopefully. No need to sit there and do diagnostics by hand and a multimeter. That is if they wanted to sell you their proprietary (blackbox-) component they created to replace a few other common components.
My point was that while there are some evidence now and then that they are indeed just fucking with people and trying to make things harder to repair and fix, cause they probably want you to buy a new and not have it repaired. I also do believe that a lot of it actually has to do with that they want to make them cheaper to manufacture, or to control manufacturing etc. If they can save a cent if they consolidate a few components or if they make their own, or they make it annoyingly hard to create "pirate components", and then they multiply that with the amount the predict they'll sell and $$$ and that is all that really matters to them I would think. That things become harder to repair, or that you have to replace a $5 component repair with a $500 component-unit-box repair is probably something they prefer and is considered a bonus.