Biden administration pursues right to repair regulation


President Biden issued an executive order directing the Federal Trade Commission to create new regulations supporting the so-called right to repair movement. Right to repair discourages practices by manufacturers to restrict owners' abilities to service products outside of approved channels.

Wired:

In a fact sheet detailing the 72 initiatives in Friday’s executive order, the White House acknowledges that companies’ restrictions on â€"the distribution of parts, diagnostics, and repair tools” makes repairs more expensive and time-consuming for the end user. In the order, the Biden administration brands such restrictions by tech companies as â€"anticompetitive” and urges the FTC to force companies to allow their customers to use independent repair shops to fix the devices they own or allow them to perform repairs themselves.

We'll have to see if the FTC follows through in the spirit of the right to repair and if there are legislative or legal challenges to the regulations. Apple has been resistant to opening up its service support to non-authorized repair shops, although in recent years the company has opened up more third-party options for servicing its products.

My hope would end-users gain greater access to buying parts, service documentation, and perhaps even diagnostic software/tools. While it's nice to have more options to service your products, owners should be able to manage their own repairs if they're so inclined.