The Week in Repair: June 19-25
FTC takes aim at Harley-Davidson, Westinghouse for illegal repair restrictions. Also: is ‘circular economy’ the goal, or de-growth? And U.S. is nowhere near a universal charger law.
FTC Takes Action Against Harley-Davidson and Westinghouse for Illegally Restricting Customers’ Right to Repair
According to the FTC’s complaints, both companies were imposing illegal warranty terms that voided customers’ warranties if they used anyone other than the companies and their authorized dealers to get parts or repairs for their products. The FTC also alleged that Harley-Davidson failed to fully disclose all of the terms of its warranty in a single document, requiring consumers to contact an authorized dealership for full details. The FTC alleges that these terms harm consumers and competition in multiple ways, including:
Restricting consumers’ choices: The companies’ warranties improperly implied that as a condition of maintaining warranty coverage, consumers had to use the company’s part or services for any repairs.
Costing consumers more money: By telling consumers their warranties will be voided if they choose third-party parts or repair services, the companies force consumers to use potentially more expensive options provided by the manufacturer.
Undercutting independent dealers: By conditioning their warranties on the use of authorized service providers and branded parts, the companies infringed the right of independent repairers.
Reducing resiliency: Consumers rely on the companies’ products for emergency power and transportation. (ftc.gov)
This Vast Farm Salvage Yard in the Middle of Nowhere Saves Farmers with Hard-to-Find Parts
Drive north out of the small central Pennsylvania town of Muncy, alongside the West Branch Susquehanna River, up into the crinkled hills, and you’ll find it: the farm that grows machines. They sprout slowly as you approach: a landscape dotted with balers, manure spreaders, feed grinders, and more lining the old country road. Those errant shoots soon give way to clusters; round the final curve and those clusters explode into fields and fields of old agricultural equipment stretching on almost endlessly, covering the hills in twisted rows, undulating with the terrain and stretching out of sight.
Fry’s Machinery Inc. doesn’t really grow tools, but it does cultivate something just as valuable as any staple crop: a farmer’s ability to repair their own machines. As the largest farm equipment salvage yard in Pennsylvania (and quite possibly the entire eastern U.S.), Fry’s is a lifeline for smaller farmers in the region seeking hard-to-find parts for a litany of machines as the tools of their trade grow more expensive, more computerized, and ever more difficult to fix.
Plows, combines, planters, balers, spreaders, choppers, mowers, tractors, and more—that a place like this, so vast and sprawling and organic-feeling, still exists in 2022 feels at least a little bit miraculous. Of course, Fry’s Machinery is no miracle. Instead, it’s the result of one man’s hard work and one family’s dedication amid the larger forces that have reshaped agriculture in America over the last half century. (The Drive)
Grappling With The Paradox Of Less Is More: Trends In Affordability And Sustainability
We are in a moment to reflect on fragile supply chains. Businesses can analyze them for circularity and find places to replace the traditional “take, make, dispose” business model with one instead focused on reusing and recycling materials.
This means exploring new practices such as dynamic pricing, micro-factories and hyper-localized manufacturing. You can also find opportunities to share existing resources versus creating from scratch. As an example, upcycling companies are doing everything from turning leftover bread into beer to making functional furniture from used coffee grounds.
As we start to embrace scarcity in business, we don’t necessarily have to look at it from a loss-making perspective. Boardrooms of the world must come to accept that innovation does not have to mean new and selling less does not have to mean revenue loss—rather, it can be an opportunity to embrace new business models. (Forbes)
Circular Economy or Degrowth?
The circular economy is championed by people like Ellen MacArthur – remember her from sailing around the world? – and is defined by making everything sustainable and reusable. We have an economy that she defines as take-make-waste; we need to move to an economy that is take-make-reuse or, to be more exact, take, make, use, reuse, redistribute, repair, reproduce.
The circular economy is a systems solution framework that tackles global challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss, waste, and pollution. A circular economy decouples economic activity from the consumption of finite resources. It is a resilient system that is good for business, people and the environment.
Degrowth, on the other hand, is a planned reduction of energy and resource use designed to bring the economy back into balance with the living world in a way that reduces inequality and improves human well-being. Sounds good, but is far more radical as it argues we should stop making money out of the planet. Degrowth argues we should prioritise social and ecological wellbeing over corporate profit. That’s difficult for people driven by profit. (thefinanser.com)
Congress demands federal government investigate automotive right to repair
Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky of Indiana has sent a letter to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) demanding it examine Washington’s role in regulating the automotive industry and consumers’ right to repair products they own.
Schakowsky is the Chairwoman of the Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee, which oversees the regulation of interstate commerce, commercial regulation, and consumer interests. “Consumers rely on a range of goods every day—vehicles, computers, mobile phones, appliances, and more—to conduct their work, bring their children to school, and complete countless other tasks,” she wrote in the letter, published on Wednesday. “When these goods break, consumers sometimes face limited options on where and how to make repairs.”
Schakowsky asked the GAO to investigate three issues: how federal agencies can ensure a consumer’s right to repair their vehicles while still being cyber secure, how well the auto industry is self-regulating on the issue of right-to-repair, and how competitive the repair market is. (VICE.com)
Repairs hobbled by supply chain woes, Apple lets customers take devices home
Apple has been dealing with ongoing supply chain challenges that have impacted the iPhone and the Mac in the last several months. According to sources speaking to MacRumors, repair parts for the MacBook Pro, such as the 16-inch MacBook Pro display, are currently taking up to two months to arrive in certain regions.
In response, Apple will now let customers take their devices back home in the event their repair will take longer than expected due to a missing part that's backlogged. Once the part has arrived at the location, customers can return the device to complete the repair. (macrumors.com)
Bipartisan Bill aims to protect Personal Information, Data Privacy
The U.S. House is considering the first bipartisan and bicameral bill to protect consumer data collection and privacy across nearly all sectors, including automakers and car dealers.
A discussion draft on the American Data Privacy and Protection Act (ADPPA) was released earlier this month by U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS), and U.S. Reps. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA). The House Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee held a legislative hearing on the act last week. It would take effect 180 days after the date of enactment.
“After failed efforts over many decades, the ‘American Data Privacy and Protection Act’ (the Act) is the first bipartisan, bicameral national comprehensive privacy and data security proposal with support from leaders on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee,” wrote Pallone in a June 10 memorandum. (repairerdrivennews.com)
Planned Obsolescence: PS4 Controllers Not Intended to Work on PS5 (But there’s a hack!)
You can use a DualSense controller to play PS4 games on a PS5 console, but can you use a PS5 controller on a PS4 console? Well, the simple answer is no.
Sony made it clear in a PlayStation Blog post that the DualSense controller will not work on PS4 consoles, as the two devices aren't compatible when connected directly. The console manufacturer has not provided a reason why this is the case, but it's a bit strange considering that the PS4 controller is forward compatible with the PS5 and backward compatible with the PS3.
However, there’s a neat workaround you can use. Here’s what you need to know. If all you have is a PS4 console and DualSense controller (no PS4 controller to play with), you can indirectly connect these incompatible devices with the help of a middleman (makeuseof.com)
The US has a long way to go before adopting a universal charger policy
In a letter sent Thursday [PDF], Senators Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt) asked Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo to look toward a strategy that would require universal charging standards in consumer tech. The senators didn't mention USB-C but cited the EU's upcoming legislation that will require smartphones, digital cameras, e-readers, headsets, laptops, and some other consumer tech products with wired charging to use USB-C.
The senators also didn't suggest that a law should be passed but, rather, some sort of inter-agency discussion. Similar to the EU's universal charging policy and the fight for the right to repair in the US, a common charging legislation in the US would likely face opposition from businesses and political groups who believe the government should be less involved. (It's also worth mentioning notable movements in this space, including New York state passing the first electronics right-to-repair bill.) (artstechnica.com)
🔖 Bonus Read: Another year and another story about USB-C for iPhone
Right to Repair: 2022 vs. 2021
Just about a year ago, I queried if 2021 could be the year of Right to Repair. For obvious reasons, the passage of legislation is perhaps the most significant development to report in 2022 — but what may be less obvious is the outsized impact these victories will have. Much like 2021, this year has seen numerous Right to Repair bills introduced across the nation, including 20 states with active bills. And much like 2021, most of these are likely to die before the year is out.
Having seen the writing on the wall, many repair-resistant behemoths have shifted their public strategy on repair, offering repair parts for do-it-yourself consumers and repair shops. This is a significant change of the winds considering these tech titans have historically "not been willing to negotiate a compromise," as Kyle Weins, CEO of iFixit recalls. (greenbiz.com)
Restart Project Turns 10!
The Restart Project was born out of our frustration with the throwaway, consumerist model of electronics that we’ve been sold, and the growing mountain of e-waste that it’s leaving behind. By bringing people together to share skills and gain the confidence to open up their stuff, we give people a hands-on way of making a difference, as well as a way to talk about the wider issue of what kind of products we want.
It's been 10 years since the first Restart Party!
Big Tech CEOs Push Congress to Oppose Antitrust Legislation, Reports Say
The Senate is considering a big vote on antitrust legislation that could change how these companies do business. CEOs of tech giants Amazon, Apple and Google are personally calling on members of Congress to urge them to oppose an antitrust bill that could change how these companies do business, according to multiple news reports.
The high-level lobbying efforts come as the Senate is expected to vote in the next few weeks on the American Innovation and Choice Online Act, which would bar these companies and other platforms from favoring their own products and services over competitors. If passed and signed into law, this legislation would mark the most meaningful change to antitrust law in decades. It would force changes in how big tech companies do business and how their products operate, and it could even break up companies. (CNET)
Other Repair News...
AIA Canada Right to Repair Petition Presented to House of Commons (jobernation.ca)
Fashion brand trying to "make repair cool again" (Ellen MacArthur Foundation)
Class Action Lawsuit Taking on Lyft and Uber for Fixing Prices (Top Class Actions)
Listen: Google's Sentient AI and Antitrust Bills (Bloomberg)
National Rural Grocery Summit to hear about resurgent anti-monopoly movement (ILSR.org)
EUREFAS: Aiming to enable a strong circular economy throughout Europe (TechbuzzIreland.com)
The Private Internet Has Failed Us (Jacobin)
Mozilla: Calling for Antitrust Reform (Mozilla)