Congressman Joseph Morelle (D-NY) filed a national Right to Repair bill in Congress on Thursday. Manufacturers would be required to offer device owners and independent repair shops with the tools, components, and information they need to repair devices under the Fair Repair Act. If it passes, individuals will be able to repair their own items without having to return them to the makers. Farmers could repair their own tractors, and we could all mend our phones more simply.
Filling Right To Repair Bill Brings Hopes To Make It Possible For Easy Electronic Repairs
The vast bulk of right-to-repair legislation has been presented at the state level so far; national legislation would make implementation much easier since it would prohibit various states from having different rules concerning gadgets that all Americans possess.
Rep. Morelle shared in a statement claiming: “For far too long, huge companies have hampered the growth of small business owners and regular Americans by denying them the opportunity to repair their own equipment.”
“It’s a good project to create a level playing field, that’s why i’m so pleased to present the Fair Repair Act, that would give customers back control. This common-sense legislation would make technology repairs for anything from cellphones to laptops to agricultural equipment more accessible and inexpensive, providing people the freedom they deserve.”
When Morelle was the Assembly Majority Leader in New York in 2018, he attempted to establish right-to-repair legislation at the state level.
The measure was killed before it could be voted on. But that was three years ago, and things have altered dramatically since then.
Right-to-repair legislation is being considered by more than half of the states in the country. The New York state Senate enacted right-to-repair legislation identical to Morelle’s proposal in Congress last week.
Both Democrats and Republicans support the law, but getting it approved has been difficult since large corporations and lobbying organizations have successfully frightened legislators in several states, causing the proposals to be defeated.
“It’s only natural to have the ability to repair. It saves money by preventing gadgets from being abandoned. “It helps farmers keep equipment in the field and out of the dealership,” said Nathan Proctor, Senior Right to Repair Campaign Director for US PIRG, in a press release.
“Thanks to champions like Rep. Morelle, no matter how many lobbyists Apple, Microsoft, John Deere, and other large corporations hire to prevent us from repairing our goods, Right to Repair continues to advance.”
The Fair Repair Act does more than compel manufacturers to comply; it also penalizes them if they do not. In a news statement, Morelle stated, “This law empowers the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to sanction individuals who breach these rules through civil penalties such as payment of damages, contract reformation, and restoration of money or property.”
“It also gives the FTC the authority to issue any rules or regulations it deems essential to carry out these enforcement responsibilities. State attorneys general are authorized to enforce the bill’s requirements under the Fair Repair Act.”
Kerry Maeve Sheehan, iFixit’s US Policy Lead, told Motherboard, “We feel that giant tech corporations shouldn’t get to control how we use the items we own or prohibit us from mending our goods.”
“We thank Congressman Morelle for bringing the Right to Repair battle to Congress and fighting for farmers, independent repair businesses, and customers throughout the country.”
People want to be able to fix their own problems. No one wants to spend $400 on an iPhone replacement when a simple tweak would address all of their concerns.
However, this problem isn’t limited to consumer gadgets. This is a problem that farmers have been dealing with for a long time.
Manufacturers like John Deere have had an effective monopoly on maintenance as their farm equipment has become increasingly sophisticated.
Big tech and many others have powerful interest groups fighting against right-to-repair legislation, but now with 27 states considering legislation as well as a new bill filed in Congress, an age in which everyone can mend their own things for free is beginning to feel inevitable.
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