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posted by janrinok on Tuesday January 24 2023, @07:50PM   Printer-friendly
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.


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  • (Score: 1, Offtopic) by Opportunist on Tuesday January 24 2023, @09:05PM (5 children)

    by Opportunist (5545) on Tuesday January 24 2023, @09:05PM (#1288421)

    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?

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  • (Score: 2) by Freeman on Tuesday January 24 2023, @11:19PM (4 children)

    by Freeman (732) on Tuesday January 24 2023, @11:19PM (#1288449) Journal

    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]

    ‘Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.…’
            Winston S Churchill, 11 November 1947

    --
    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

      by Freeman (732) on Tuesday January 24 2023, @11:41PM (#1288455) Journal

      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

      by Opportunist (5545) on Wednesday January 25 2023, @12:34AM (#1288460)

      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)

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 25 2023, @02:51AM (#1288474)

      The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 25 2023, @04:58AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 25 2023, @04:58AM (#1288492)

        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.