Right to repair

Why it's needed

Products are becoming harder and harder for people to repair.

Cars
Appliances
Computers
Smartphones
Farm equipment
Medical equipment

Examples

This section has not been filled in yet. discussion TODO: Describe things in story format. Cover cases such as Apple, John Deere, and medical equipment (ventilator mouthpiece example, etc.).

How it happens

The manufacturer creates a monopoly on repairs, so that no one else has the tools or parts required to fix the device. They can charge as much as they want for even the smallest repair, or deny the ability to repair at all (which pressures customers to buy a new product instead). They use a few tactics to make this happen:

Patenting the replacement parts, so no third-party company can make them.
Deliberately designing the device's recovery features to be inaccessible without specialized software or hardware that only the company has access to.

Effects

Even when you buy and own something, you have little control on how you can use it.
More things get replaced instead of repaired.
- Raises the cost of living (both directly and indirectly - for example health care costs in the case of medical equipment)
- Environmental impact (via more manufacturing and more e-waste)

Laws that need to be passed

This section has not been filled in yet.

Next steps / Actions to take ✊🏻✊🏽✊🏿