The FTC’s (kick-ass) Right to Repair report

Years in the making, hugely vindicating.

It’s been nearly two years since the FTC’s Nixing the Fix workshop on how corporations have sabotage our right to repair. Finally, the Commission has issued its report, and it’s hugely vindicating for R2R advocates.

https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/reports/nixing-fix-ftc-report-congress-repair-restrictions/nixing_the_fix_report_final_5521_630pm-508_002.pdf

If you don’t have time to read the 56-page report, check out Ifixit’s cheat-sheet, which highlights the salient points, namely:

• Companies routinely violate federal law by voiding their customers’ warranties in retaliation for seeking independent repair
• Anti-repair tactics more heavily harm Black people and communities of color
• The pandemic made independent repair sabotage even more important
• Companies sabotage repair by: designing products to make it harder to fix them; withholding parts and manuals; targeting customers with anti-repair FUD; abusing patent and trademark; using DRM; and imposing abusive EULAs on customers.

https://www.ifixit.com/News/50251/ftc-report-congress-nixing-fix-repair-restrictions-reactions