Your right to repair

President Joe Biden has signed upwards of 70 executive orders in his tenure of office, signing more in his first two weeks than any president since FDR. Some have been widely accepted by the public. Some have been controversial, sparking outrage from the right, who up to this point has been extremely dissatisfied with his presidency. One has even been struck down by the Supreme Court as recently as this month.

However, there is one order signed last summer that we all can probably agree on, legality aside.

In a sweeping order that carried various measures to promote economic competition, Biden took a jab at tech companies who make it difficult or sometimes impossible for consumers to repair their devices, asking the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to crack down on “unfair anticompetitive restrictions on third-party repair or self-repair of items, such as the restrictions imposed by powerful manufacturers that prevent farmers from repairing their own equipment.”

This means a lot for technology users who up to this point have been restricted by popular technology companies, i.e., Apple, Microsoft and Samsung, from repairing their own devices. Either they manufacture them as sealed units, which can be intimidating for consumers to open, or they write warranty conditions so as to void it upon repair of the device anywhere other than their certified shops. At some points, both Microsoft and Sony have affixed “void if removed” stickers to illegally make customers think they weren’t allowed to open a product they had purchased.

Since then, the White House has highlighted their victory in the news as Apple and Microsoft have announced plans to make repairs to their devices more accessible. Apple, for instance, has declared that spare parts for the iPhone 12 and 13 such as screens and batteries will soon be available for purchase. This could mean a lot of changes coming in the market for Apple repair, as previously a customer would have to take their device into an Apple certified repair store. Now not only will they be able to fix their devices at home, but shops that aren’t certified will now be able to fix them as well.

Will these changes be good? Only time will tell as this decision, as any, could have unforeseen consequences on the economy. Discussions will probably soon ensue as to whether the FTC has the authority to regulate a business in such a way or whether it will take away our protection from shady computer shops.

But for now, we get to work on our own stuff. We actually own our products now. Which is pretty cool if you ask me.

By Charles Metz