On November 14th, iFixit and the Public Interest Research Group submitted a petition demanding that American consumer's rights to repair be cemented as law. As iFixit puts, it, everyone should have the right to fix what they own. "If you can't fix it, you don't own it".
Companies like Apple have long fought against independent repair shops ability to repair products like laptops. They'd prefer to have the consumer bring the product back to the Apple store, where it could potentially be fixed at a hefty price tag, or have the consumer purchase a new laptop entirely. This is a great model for Apple, effectively cornering the market on their own product and creating a repair monopoly. Apple, and similar tech giants have fought to have independent repair shops across the country shut down and have introduced proprietary screws and code on their devices that effectively make it impossible for a third party to get past a basic diagnosis.
Despite vocal bipartisan support, and enthusiastic public agreement, there isn't yet legislation at the federal level to guarantee a consumer's Right to Repair.
Hopefully, the FTC will take up this petition. Keep an eye on the story here at iFixit. If it is accepted, the public will eventually be able to weigh in on the issue.
