Apple Fights “Right To Repair” Laws

Connector Spring 2017

Apple, along with several other tech companies, is heavily opposing a set of so-called “right to repair” bills in eight American states, which would require easy access to tools and knowledge regarding electronic device repairs.

One such case is a Nebraska bill, known as LB67 or the Fair Repair Act. If passed, it will become the first such measure in the United States, and similar proposals are currently being reviewed in Minnesota, New York, Massachusetts, Illinois, Wyoming, Tennessee and Kansas.

If LB67 becomes law, it would require tech companies such as Apple to make their diagnostic tools and service manuals publicly available to consumers and repair shops alike. This will benefit more than just people living in Nebraska, however – such a release could help users all around the world, and particularly so in countries often forgotten by big corporations, where official service centers are nonexistent.

Apple appears to have concerns regarding its intellectual property, as the act would require tech companies to freely share previously non-public information, even though the text of the proposal explicitly states the following: “Nothing in the Fair Repair Act shall be construed to require an original equipment manufacturer to divulge a trade secret.”

Source: phonearena.com / The Guardian