What They Say
Although the legislation has still to be passed by the Assembly, the New York State Senate has overwhelmingly (51-21) voted to pass electronics right-to-repair legislation. It is reported to be the first US legislative body to pass such a law. The Digital Fair Repair Act
“requires OEMs to make available, for purposes of diagnosis, maintenance, or repair, to any independent repair provider, or to the owner of digital electronic equipment manufactured by or on behalf of, or sold by, the OEM, on fair and reasonable terms, documentation, parts, and tools, inclusive of any updates to information or embedded software.”
What We Think
I’m inclined to support this kind of legislation, but part of me thinks that whatever form the regulations appear in, there will inevitably be some ‘unintended consequences’. It is so tricky to optimally balance manufacturability (and the environmental impacts of manufacture), repairability, cost, durability and performance. I suspect that it may take years (or decades, even) for really good amended legislation to emerge in this area. (BR)
