The Week in Repair: Jan 18-25
Biden talks up right to repair. Also: Fixing Factories gaining steam in UK. LG promises to make appliances upgradeable and PA Lt. Gov. calls for farmer right to repair.
Biden Doubles Down: Calls for Consumer Right to Repair
President Biden believes in the right to repair. He told the White House Competition Council last night that customers should have more choice in where their things are fixed, with fewer penalties, at lower cost. “From a smartphone to a tractor, you don’t have the freedom to chose how or where to repair that item you purchased,” he told his cabinet. “Denying the right to repair raises prices for consumers, means independent repair shops can’t compete for your business.” (ifixit.com)
Right to Repair: A Consumer Movement That Left and Right Should Agree On
There’s an old saying that a stopped clock is right twice a day. We shouldn’t be shocked, then, that President Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders are correct in part of their economic analysis of consumer rights. That’s an area where conservatives could benefit people in their daily lives as well as win over independent voters. (nationalreview.com)
FORD CEO: heated seat subscriptions ‘not our approach’
Barely six months after BMW backed down from plans to make Apple CarPlay a subscription service, the company raised the hackles of consumers and the media alike when word got out that it was planning to make convenience items like heated seats a recurring cost. Now, Ford’s CEO, Jim Farley, has gone on record as saying that approach doesn’t make sense for the Blue Oval.
Speaking at a roundtable event with Bloomberg’s Emily Chang and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff during the media launch of the Ford E-Transit in Sonoma, California, Farley said he’d “be surprised if we charged for heated seats,” adding “I don’t think that’s our approach.” That doesn’t mean subscriptions won’t come to Ford products, though, with Farley making past comments suggesting that connected services could be a $20 billion market by 2030. (motor1.com)
🏭 Movement for "Fixing Factories" Growing in the UK
The UK’s factories were the engine rooms of the Industrial Revolution, introducing the world to new ways of working, making and consuming. Can two ‘fixing factories’ in London help do the same for the burgeoning circular economy?
With a cost of living crisis looming in the UK, fixing factories are arriving at a good time. But breathing new life into old items doesn’t just save people cash. It also reduces emissions from new products and helps stem the rising tide of e-waste, which is piling up at landfill sites the world over. Although most of the people working at the factories will be volunteers, three paid positions are available through the Restart Project, Possible and Ready Tech Go. Waste, evidently, pays. (positive.news)
Watch Washington State’s Right to Repair Hearing. Is This the Year it Happens?
This year’s fight for your right to repair your own stuff is on, with bills in at least 25 states and public hearings about right to repair in Illinois and Washington State last week. And a small victory, with the Washington State legislation being voted out of committee - a big advance. Check out this video of highlights from the hearing! (ifixit.com)
🎛 LG Promises to Make Home Appliance Software Upgradeable
The company today announced a scheme called “Evolving Appliances For You.” Just how this will all work was not explained, but more info has been promised for followers of LG Appliances’ Instagram account.
The plan is sketchy: LG has outlined a scenario in which a customer who moves to a locale with climate markedly different to their previous home could use LG’s ThingQ app to upgrade their clothes dryer with new software that makes the appliance better suited to prevailing conditions and to the kind of fabrics you’d wear in a hotter or colder climes. The drier could also get new hardware to handle its new location. An image distributed by LG shows off the ability to change the tune a dryer plays after it finishes a load. (theregister.com)
Badass Lt. Governor: Pennsylvania Farmers Need a Right to Repair
Supporting rural Pennsylvania, including our commonwealth’s 53,000 farms, has always been one of my top priorities, especially when I can help our small farms thrive.
That’s why for me, it’s long past time that the federal government enact broad right-to-repair laws in Pennsylvania and nationwide. It’s common sense: farmers should have the right to repair the equipment they own, without having to deal with the equipment’s manufacturer. Period. (goerie.com)
John Deere plows into two farmer anti-trust lawsuits
Two lawsuits have been filed in the past two weeks against farm equipment maker Deere & Company for allegedly violating antitrust laws by unlawfully monopolizing the tractor repair market. The first [PDF] was filed on January 12 in Illinois on behalf of Forest River Farms, a farming business based in North Dakota; the second, was filed in Alabama last week on behalf of farmer Trinity Dale Wells [PDF]. (theregister.com)
📊 One-Third of Consumers Have Not Heard of the ‘Circular Economy’: Study
Takeback and resale programs by brands are raising awareness of textile recycling, and programs like the Ellen MacArthur’s Jeans Redesign guidelines are working to ensure that more durable and circular garments are available on stores’ shelves. But are these efforts enough to engage consumers in the circular economy?
Yes and no, according to a new study by DNV, an independent assurance and risk management provider. In a survey of 2,900 consumers in the U.S. and in Europe, the firm found that 35.8 percent had not heard of circular economy. Of those that had, 45 percent indicated they have extensive knowledge and actively participate. (sourcingjournal.com)
Automakers are determined to pretend that right to repair doesn’t exist
We know car companies hold all this indeterminate “data” — quite possibly wider in scope than their customers would be comfortable knowing. We know they don’t want to give it up, because it makes them a lot of money. They’ve argued the “open platform” Question 1 mandates would risk drivers’ safety, even though the strength of that argument relies upon a complete misrepresentation of the data this law is actually meant to democratize. (jalopnik.com)
DIYers, Rejoice! John Deere? Not so much.
While many of today’s antitrust lawsuits boil down to things like market shares, price fixing, and reducing cost to consumers, it used to have loftier origins. Once upon a time, trust busting was about liberty. And, if Joe Biden’s recent backing of the right to repair is any indication, we might be returning to that ethos.
Trusts like Standard Oil and Northern Securities Company were behemoths that were taken to task for limiting the choices consumers could make through deploying anticompetitive practices like price fixing and buying out competition. And while companies smartened up with their anticompetitive strategies, courts have arguably become more lax with their interpretation and enforcement of the Sherman Act and other antitrust statutes. And while it is more fashionable to lament the impact of inflation on the economy, you ought to be taking note of what companies are doing too — anticompetitive practices cost the average American family about $5,000 per year. (abovethelaw.com)
Hive View security camera customers left in the dark
Customers of Centrica-owned Hive are reporting problems with their cameras, with many complaining the devices have packed up, some after a few years of operation and others after mere days. The company's forums are filled with complaints from customers finding their cameras have unexpectedly headed towards the light (or flashing white light in this case) while the vendor appears unable to rectify the issue. (theregister.com)
🇫🇷 Circular Electronics Platform Now France’s Most Valuable Startup As Repair Movement Strengthens
Return and repair startup Back Market has confirmed the closing of a $510 million funding round. The platform offers high-end refurbishing operations a way to reach price and environmentally savvy consumers. Everything is covered, from smartphones and tablets to games consoles and recording equipment. Commonly focused on fashion, bringing tech items into the circular economy conversation afforded Back Market a chance to stand out. (greenqueen.com)
🏥 The Right to Repair Medical Equipment is not an IP Issue
Common sense tells us that illegal hackers are not waiting for legal access to repair documentation, nor that they would be in the least constrained by the threat of litigation for copyright violations. These arguments don’t even strike me as copyright or intellectual property arguments at all. Instead, this appears to be a stealth argument against opening repair access as a general policy having nothing to do with copyright law. (ipwatchdog.com)
📱 The Future of Electronics Repair: Interview with CEO of RepairDesk
The best time to start a cell phone repair business in the U.S. is now. The cell phone repair industry in America (and the world) is on a roll – all primed for the smart entrepreneur’s entry. This is on account of such factors as rising smartphone costs/resilience, social movements like Right to Repair (that have successfully compelled tech titans like Apple and Microsoft to loosen their grip on device repairs), low industry barriers to entry, and little-to-no licensing requirements – as detailed in this exclusive TechBullion interview with CEO RepairDesk Usman Butt. (techbullion.com)
Public Knowledge Joins Fight To Overturn Copyright Law Limiting Right to Repair
Public Knowledge joined more than 15 accessibility, security, and repair advocates in an amicus brief at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in the case of Matthew D. Green v. U.S. Department of Justice in support of consumers' First Amendment rights. (publicknowledge.org)
New EU initiative for consumer right to repair
The proposals by European Commission include creating a new right to repair for defects caused by wear and tear or mishandling of the product; amending the Sale of Goods Directive to ensure that repair, rather than replacement, is the primary remedy available to consumers; and restarting the legal warranty period for products that have been repaired (lexology.com)
KIA news the latest knock on OEM case against Massachusetts Auto Repair Law
According to a statement issued Thursday by Kia America, “The new law requires that 2022 and newer vehicles that utilize a telematics system be equipped with an inter-operable, standardized and open access platform, but such a platform does not currently exist in the market, thus making compliance impossible.” So the carmaker has simply turned off its telematics system in new models, to buy time. (bostonglobe.com)
⚖️ EFF: In the Internet Age, CopyrightDoes More Than Antitrust to ShapeCompetition
If we want to create space for New Tech to challenge Big Tech, antitrust law can’t be the only solution. We need balanced copyright policies as well, in the U.S. and around the world. That’s why we fought to stop the EU’s mandate and continue to fight to address the inevitable harms of implementation, It’s why we are working hard to stop the current push to mandate filters in the U.S. as well. We also need the courts to do their part. (eff.org)
🔋 Disposable e-bikes? The problem withunrepairable batteries
It is time for the e-bike industry to change and embrace the Right to Repair. As more e-bikes are sold yearly and the ecological crisis intensifies, this is becoming a pressing issue for consumers and the planet. Between 2019-2020, 3 million e-bikes were sold in Europe, representing around 20% of all bikes sold across the continent.
E-bikes battery packs make up the most valuable component of electric bikes. Batteries can cost between 300 to over 1000 EUR and may make up to 50% of the overall cost. Yet batteries are ultimately consumables, and based on their usage they will need to be changed between every 2 to 7 years once power begins to fade. (repair.eu)
🔊 I tried to fix my wireless earbuds. It did not go well
Earlier this year, Apple, The first U.S. company to reach a $ 3 trillion valuation against the backdrop of an ever-growing ecosystem of gadgets and services.
There is a web page on the Apple site titled “AirPods Replacement, Service, Repair”, however, none of the options include repairs. You can pay to send them for “battery service”, but an Apple spokesman says this involves sending brand new pods. If Apple doesn't fix it, someone else may fix it. I visited three local repair shops and turn my back on everyone politely because earphones are so small that they are too laborious and time consuming to be worth the labor costs. (californianewstimes.com)
2022 should be a landmark year for the Right to Repair
This year’s fight for the right to repair your stuff is on, and we are feeling optimistic. In the US, we’re expecting right to repair bills in at least 25 states—bills that will cover everything from iPhones to tractors to wheelchairs, with broad bipartisan support. The European Commission has promised a right to repair legislative proposal in the third quarter of 2022, as part of the European Green Deal. In Canada, Member of Parliament Bryan May is likely to reintroduce a bill that stalled in committee last year, as right to repair is now part of his party’s platform and May has been appointed to a leadership position. The Australian Government is expected to act this year on a December 2021 Productivity Commission report, which found “significant and unnecessary barriers to repair.” (ifixit.com)
Hey Nordictrack: if I buy something I want to be able to hack it
Imagine that you spend 3,600 euros on a state-of-the-art treadmill. You do it because the invention has a 32-inch screen that allows you to follow the routines, but also because you know it can be hacked to be able to watch courses, football or the latest episode of ‘El Pacificador’. Imagine that suddenly the manufacturer caps your machine and prevents you from doing all those things.
That is what has happened with the NordicTrack treadmills. The company did not like that their screens were used for anything other than what they had in mind for them. What did you do? Block the mechanism that allowed it to be hacked, something that has made its users furious. If I spend €3,600 on a product, I want to be able to do whatever I want with it. Or not? (voonze.com)
🗞️ Other Repair News...
North Dakota farm sues John Deere in Federal class action suit (agweek.com)
Two thirds of Washington State voters support right to repair (realchangenews.org)
Why the aftermarket auto market is only going to grow (autoserviceworld.com)
Farmers, others watching 'right to repair' measure closely (myjournalcourier.com)
Another try for right to repair in Pennsylvania (lancasterfarming.com)
Bergens to launch repair and return service (ecotextile.com)
US regulators aiming at illegal and anticompetitive mergers (stuff.co.nz)
Tim Cook and Sundar Pichai are personally lobbying senators against antitrust legislation: report (theverge.com)
Apple will soon allow customers to fix their own phones (fox17online.com)
Kia, Hyundai file patent violation complaints in U.S. courts over aftermarket headlights (repairerdrivennews.com)
7 Best Modular Laptops with Upgradeable Components (robots.net)
IoT Implications? Lawsuit Alleges Lock-In Maintenance (rtinsights.com)
Amy Klobuchar on the tech lobby’s all-out war on antitrust legislation (fastcompany.com)
Oculus Quest 2 Teardown: Into the Metaverse (ifixit.com)
One of Amazon’s seller programs has been found unlawful (engadget.com)
DHL: supply chain must drive move to circular economy (supplychaindigital.com)