Right to Repair Killed- Threatwire Crosspost (Patreon)

Chosen by our ThreatWire Patreon patrons this week is a story on Right to Repair legislation… or, the lack thereof. 

By Shannon Morse 

"Right to Repair" advocacy campaigns to let users fix their own technology with their own tools, software, and / or aftermarket components. A bill was put forward by Canada’s Liberal Party MPP Michael Coteau back in February, that would force companies to provide end users with parts, tools, and repair manuals at fair prices so they’d have the right to repair their own products. North America currently does not have a law like this, though in the US, 20 states are considering it. Many users have been forced to find aftermarket parts sold illegally or use third party firmware like we’ve seen with John Deere farm equipment to make the upgrades or fixes necessary to continue using the product they paid for.  Unfortunately though, Coteau’s bill died during its second reading in Ontario’s parliament, during which time the majority Progressive Conservative Party voted it down. Arguments were made that the bill would force companies to hand out their code to average consumers, and it would compromise US company intellectual property. 

Coteau was approached by lobbyists who represent Apple and Panasonic, and told that this was a public safety issue - stating that it’s dangerous for people to open up electronic devices and fix it themselves. They worry that user’s don’t understand the risk of opening up an electronic device, mainly due to the possibility of puncturing a lithium ion battery. Meanwhile, people do repair their own iPhones using aftermarket devices and components all the time without incident, and so many well-known problems have occurred (like airport’s banning batteries in checked luggage, and Samsung's own battery debacle), that it’s widely accepted and known that batteries can be dangerous if not handled carefully. Many independent repair technicians also fix iPhones without being a party of Apple’s Authorized Service Provider Program, by purchasing replacement parts from manufacturers overseas instead of directly through Apple. I recently reported on Apple’s new Genuine Parts Repair program, which they seem to be piloting with some repair companies.

In California, a similar bill was lobbied against as well. In this one an Apple rep and a lobbyist for CompTIA met with legislators to discuss the dangers of disassembling an iPhone. CompTIA along with 18 other trade organizations sent letters to the members of the Assembly’s Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee to oppose the legislation. 

This bill, brought forth by Susan Talamantes-Eggman, was pulled just before it would be heard on the floor due to a lack of support. Talamantes-Eggman hopes to bring it back next year.