Narrowed Right to Repair gets signed, marking “the end of the beginning” (UPDATED)
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Narrowed Right to Repair gets signed, marking “the end of the beginning”
People ought to be able to fix their stuff. That’s why we’ve been planning and building for the passage of Digital Right to Repair laws, regulations, rules, and standards for the past ten years. It’s been a long game – longer than we ever expected. Every small victory, such as the work done for the Nixing the Fix FTC study, has been preparing for the big fight.
The real fight was always getting real protections in the force of law, and much like we saw last night, not everything went perfectly. We got a bill passed in New York State but took some lumps getting over the finish line.
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New York Breaks the Right To Repair Bill as It's Signed Into Law
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Governor Hochul SABOTAGES NY right to repair bill, right on schedule
UPDATE
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After Dumb Lobbying Delays And Ample Watering Down, NY Passes Landmark ‘Right To Repair’ Bill
New York State has finally passed a landmark “right to repair” bill proving American consumers some additional protection from repair monopolies. After some annoying delays created by lobbyists, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul signed the legislation on December 29.
Another one:
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New York governor signs modified right-to-repair bill at the last minute | Ars Technica
New York state governor Kathy Hochul has signed the Digital Fair Repair Act into law, months after it had passed both chambers of the state's legislature with overwhelming bipartisan majorities. The bill had originally passed in June, but it was only formally sent to Hochul's desk earlier this month; the governor had until midnight on December 28th to sign the bill, veto it, or allow it to pass into law without her signature.
The Digital Fair Repair Act is the country's first right-to-repair bill that has passed through a state legislature (as opposed to being implemented via executive order), and has been hailed as "precedent-setting" by right-to-repair advocacy groups like iFixit. The law will require companies to provide the same diagnostic tools, repair manuals, and parts to the public that they provide to their own repair technicians.
Late coverage:
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New York breaks the right to repair bill as it’s signed into law
New York governor Kathy Hochul signed the Digital Fair Repair Act on December 28th, 2022, and the law will go into effect on July 1st, 2023 — a full year after it was originally passed by the NY State legislature. The bill establishes that consumers and independent repair providers have a right to obtain manuals, diagrams, diagnostics and parts from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in order to repair their own devices. However, the bill was meaningfully compromised at the last minute by amendments that give OEMs some convenient exceptions and loopholes to get out of obligations that many right to repair advocates had been hoping for.
This week:
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Gov. Hochul Got It Wrong on Cybersecurity And Repair
Governor Hochul’s long awaited signature making the Digital Fair Repair Act law is a victory for the many individuals and organizations who have been pushing for the enactment of right to repair laws. It also definitively marks an end to an eight year winning streak by manufacturers and Big Tech firms who, since 2014, have prevented more than 100 pieces of legislation in 40 states from even being voted on by a legislature, let alone signed into law by a governor.
Make no mistake about it: passage of the Digital Fair Repair Act is a watershed and a huge victory for right to repair advocates and a big “L” for technology and manufacturing monopolies that are looking to extend their control over aftermarket parts, service and repair. We should all be happy to see it pass into law.
Some good news today:
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John Deere & Co. will allow farmers to repair their own equipment
As the agriculture sector accelerates its adoption of technology, the reliance on high-tech machinery such as GPS-guided combines and tractors has become more common-place.
But equipment makers such as Deere have generally required customers to use their parts and service divisions for repairs and until recently, only allowed authorized dealers the means and tools to access the complex computerized systems of their tractors and other machinery.
The “right-to-repair” movement has gained steam as input costs have surged in recent years – as has the price of repairs.
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Deere & Co. will allow farmers to repair their own equipment
The American Farm Bureau Federation and machinery manufacturer Deere & Co (DE.N) signed a memorandum of understanding on Sunday that ensures farmers have the right to repair their own farm equipment or go to an independent technician.
As the agriculture sector accelerates its adoption of technology, the reliance on high-tech machinery such as GPS-guided combines and tractors has become more common-place.
But equipment makers such as Deere have generally required customers to use their parts and service divisions for repairs and until recently, only allowed authorized dealers the means and tools to access the complex computerized systems of their tractors and other machinery.
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John Deere signs right to repair agreement