Right to Repair Laws Come to Apple’s Home Turf

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Apple has fought against “Right to Repair” laws. Now they have to deal with them in their hometown.

Who owns the products you buy? “Surely I do,” you might respond. If you owned your phone, for example, you could do whatever you like with it, wouldn’t you? Damage it and you’d repair it yourself, if you had the knowledge or willingness to learn. It’s what people have done with their cars, the fixtures in their houses, their clothing, and anything else they’ve owned. If you don’t want to throw something out, you fix it, either yourself or by hiring someone you know and trust to do it for you. This is your “right to repair,” which you can read more about here.

Apple wants to change that. The supposedly “green” company would rather you throw out your devices or have a monopoly on repairing them. They have their reasons, including brand image and consumer safety, however, it’s blatantly obvious that their primary motivator is forcing users to come to them for new products or repairs. Fortunately, a number of states have fought back, and now, California is taking Apple to task in their own backyard.

California’s Right to Repair Act

California lawmaker Susan Talamantes Eggman announced plans to introduce a Right to Repair Act in California. Her act would require Apple and other tech companies to provide official repair parts to third party repair shops and consumers. That means, if your screen breaks, you could buy a new one from Apple and install it yourself. Or, if you’re afraid that might not go as planned, know that a third party repair shop is using parts and techniques approved by Apple.

The Right to Repair Act will provide consumers with the freedom to have their electronic products and appliances fixed by a repair shop or service provider of their choice, a practice that was taken for granted a generation ago but is now becoming increasingly rare in a world of planned obsolescence.

-Susan Talamantes Eggman

What the Right to Repair Act Brings to Consumers

Right to repair laws protect consumers. You can buy a device and know it’s yours, find replacement parts for it, take it to any repair center you trust, whether that’s a decent shop, an Apple Store, or your friend, and you can shop around for prices and find something that fits your budget as well. Instead of throwing out a device, you can have it repaired, and you can keep it working much longer, with less waste. Finally, these laws allow consumers to have their devices repaired how they see fit, and know that the parts used are official parts from the original manufacturer. Right to repair laws mean less electronics waste, cheaper repairs, official parts, and happy customers who can use their devices until they’re ready to upgrade.

Why Apple is Fighting These Laws

These laws protect customers and allow them to enjoy them for much longer than they otherwise would. Why wouldn’t Apple support these laws? Well, Apple’s a business. They charge for repairs, they, of course, charge for new devices. Plus, if you bring your old device to them, they can recycle it, which could involve repairing and reselling it or just recycling the parts at a lower cost than it would take to get them another way. Apple claims it’s also for security and to ensure consumer protection, but those excuses are invalidated by bills like these, which require guides, Apple certified parts, and do not force Apple to disclose secrets that could compromise device security. For Apple, this is about profits.

Will a Right to Repair Law Come to You?

California is now the 18th state to begin the process of defining a consumer right to repair their products. California also has strict repairability laws, forcing companies to support their products for longer than any other state. While you might not be able to get a device serviced at an Apple store after 3 years in the 49 other states, California will force Apple to keep your gear running for 7 years. A right to repair law in California may actually help alleviate this pressure on Apple. Besides lobbying and a Republican leaning towards big business, these laws receive little opposition from lawmakers. However, they haven’t gained much traction either. There’s hope for a greener, less expensive, and freer future though, we’ve just got to be sure to support politicians who defend consumer rights. You can find out about your state’s laws and how to contact your legislators on repair.org.

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Sources:

• Juli Clover, MacRumors
• iFixit
• Jason Koebler, Motherboard
• Mariella Moon, Engadget