California's SB 983, the "Right to Repair" bill, dies in committee

[Auggie]

San Francisco Chronicle / May 24, 2022

... The legislative bill, which would have been the first of its kind in the United States, would have required makers of electronic gear such as cell phones, game consoles, washers and dryers, computers — almost anything with a chip inside — to ease the route to fixing broken stuff by providing parts, tools and manuals at reasonable prices.

Supporters pitched it as a no-brainer to save consumers money and reduce e-waste. But the electronics industry says that it could have created a free-for-all, allowing pirates to flourish, unauthorized people to access sensitive information and trade secrets to be violated.

SNIP

“Consumers right now are locked out of fixing everything from their smartphone to their refrigerator,” said Kevin O’Reilly, a Right to Repair campaign director with U.S. Public Interest Research Group, or PIRG. He’s also associated with CALPIRG.

O’Reilly’s view: Manufacturers have a vested interest in making it hard to fix stuff. They can charge “an arm and a leg” for repairs and use those high costs to entice consumers into buying shiny new devices.

Link (paywall): https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Broken-laptop-How-California-s-right-to-repair-17185453.php

Highlights from the link:

• Though California’s bill failed, other states are pursuing similar legislation and there’s also a pending federal bill.

• O’Reilly: “Apple and Google and other tech giants have either lobbied against the bill or supported organizations that lobbied against the bill.”

• According to the Entertainment Software Association, (Mandates to provide manuals and tools) “present unique security and piracy risks to the video game ecosystem” and that right to repair could open the floodgates for illegal copying of video games (which can cost as much to produce as blockbuster movies).

• Right-to-repair advocates point to a green aspect: Reducing the throwaway culture.

• O’Reilly: “California households produce 1.1 million tons of e-waste each year. E-waste leaches toxic chemicals into the environment. E-wastes is 2% of the waste stream but 70% of its toxicity.”

• CALPIRG: California households can save $4.3 billion per year by opting for repair rather than replacement of certain household goods

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This fight is not over, according to the link, but it'll have to wait until a new legislation session next year.

[JohnSJ]

1. That is interesting that Apple was against this legislation, because they just started selling

parts for users to fix their own phones

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2022/04/apples-self-service-repair-now-available/

Perhaps Apple did that as a direct result of this legilation.

[Auggie]

4. Didn't see that. Thanks for sharing.

[hunter]

5. That was European pressure.

It's a bother to make separate products for different regions.

[Auggie]

8. +1

[bucolic_frolic]

2. Hackers had a field day with computers and lots of other things

If legislators can't go with right to repair, they should go with right to clone ... aftermarket parts have been a mainstay since the 1920s .. similar in form, fit, function, just not 100% the same.

And not to take manufacturers' side, but how many consumers have the expertise to repair these complicated things? Software, hard ware, fittings, electrical loads ... it's a nightmare.

[Auggie]

3. The bill was aimed to help support small repair shops

I'm old enough to remember those

[hunter]

6. Our old Kenmore dishwasher keeps on going.

That's because it's easy to repair and parts are readily available.

It's from a time when every other dishwasher sold in the U.S.A. was the same basic model with a few cosmetic differences.

Our clothes dryer is a similar machine.

Our newer clothes washer isn't like that. I look warily at the 10 year warranty and wonder if that's actually an expiration date.

[Auggie]

7. The old stuff was built well

We inherited a Kenmore refrigerator when we bought our house 21 years ago. No idea how old it actually was -- over 30 years? It finally died last year. But it performed like a champ.

[hunter]

9. We had an old Kenmore refrigerator about that old.

The last time it failed the new part required to fix it would have cost me around eighty dollars.

I would have fixed it but all the internal plastic was brittle and cracked and hadn't stood up well to rough treatment by our children. That stuff wasn't replaceable. It was held together with wire and hot glue.

My wife chose to get a new refrigerator.