In the US state of New York, a law was passed for the first time requiring manufacturers of electrical appliances to cover repairs. From now on, affected companies must ensure access to spare parts and repair instructions.
Valid for all businesses operating in New York State
The Digital Fair Repair Act affects all businesses that sell electronic devices in New York State. In this efficient legal area, they will be required to carry out repairs by customers as well as independent repair shops. These include the provision of special tools, spare parts and repair instructions.
The law, which is scheduled to take effect next year and must first be signed by the governor, implements the interests of individuals and independent repair shops, which have been campaigning for such a right to repair for years. Many companies still make it impossible or hinder the repair of their devices. Apple and John Deere have received particularly negative attention in this regard. For a long time, anyone wanting to repair an iPhone had to go to an Apple Store or an Apple-authorized repair shop, which meant additional revenue for Apple and additional costs for consumers. Only recently, Apple also allowed repair work to be carried out by independent workshops and made repair instructions available to individuals in the United States. For its part, John Deere, a manufacturer of agricultural machinery, stipulated that certain models could only be repaired by authorized repair shops – with the same result as Apple.
More competition, more sustainability, lower costs
Claims for the right to repair are justified in different ways. US President Joe Biden, also in favor of such a right, sees it above all as a means of strengthening competition between companies – with supposed positive effects on the overall economic situation and therefore, ultimately, also on individuals. Other initiatives take a direct approach to this level in their justification and call for a right to repair in order to avoid additional burdens for consumers. Added to this are arguments in favor of sustainability, such as the fact that disproportionately high repair costs in authorized workshops encourage consumers to buy a new device instead of repairing the old one. This, in turn, consumes resources and cements economic power relations – and is therefore neither ecologically nor socio-economically sustainable.
Signal effect for other regions?
The law only applies in the US state of New York. Its defenders, however, are betting that it can have an impact well beyond the borders of this state. Kyle Wiens, CEO of the repair site iFixit, points out, for example, that restricting the law to New York State would involve a huge amount of work for companies, which would hardly be worth it: it would be more expensive to create a website containing documentation only for New York rather than simply making these instructions public.
In addition, several other US states are already working on corresponding laws. The European Parliament is also discussing a right to compensation. New York is therefore likely to play a pioneering role as part of a larger movement.
2024-02-29 11:12:50
#York #Senate #votes #repair #electrical #appliances
