California passes right-to-repair act guaranteeing seven years of parts for your phone
California passes right-to-repair act guaranteeing seven years of parts for your phone
Right in Big Tech’s backyard, too.
The bill outlines three years for products costing $50 to $99.99 and seven years for products priced at $100 or more. The bill will cover electronics and appliances made and sold after July 1st, 2021.
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yeah, this feels like a big heckin deal??
hopefully we can get this elsewhere, too
which feels like it might be easier if companies are already complying with this
which feels like it might be easier if companies are already complying with this
This is part of the California regulation strategy: California is the largest market in the country for many products. It's often cheaper to make things to California standards for everyone than to run two different production lines or facilities or give up California altogether, so we get California approved and labeled things all across the US. It's a nifty feature of the state.
And when support ends, if there is any sort of lock on the firmware, it must be removed so the aftermarket can service the device. They should do cars next.
This sort of stuff is why I love living in California. I work in tech myself, but they never pay me those extra savings from cut corners, bad service, or environmental damage.
So we're going to get repair parts available from Xbox and Nintendo? And ways to flash a firmware onto it? It seems hard to imagine what this will look like in practice. It's one thing to see fairphone or framework do it and it's another thing to consider what it looks like for everyone.
Read elsewhere gaming handhelds may be exempt. Unsure if that's accurate.
The bill text excludes video game consoles completely.
Way to go Cali!
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However, the California bill stands out in that it requires companies to expand access to repair materials like parts, tools, documentation, and software for a longer period of time.
“We’re especially thrilled to see this bill pass in the state where iFixit is headquartered, which also happens to be Big Tech’s backyard.
Another notable factor: Apple made waves last month when it announced it was throwing its support behind California’s right-to-repair act in a letter to Senator Susan Talamantes Eggman, who authored the bill.
Apple also highlighted that its new iPhone 15 Pro’s titanium chassis makes it more repairable at its Wonderlust event on September 12th, hours before SB 244 passed California’s state Assembly.
“That’s good news, because as important as this legislation is, we have more to do if we want a more sustainable relationship with the electronics that power our modern lives.”
New York’s right-to-repair bill, for example, heavily disappointed activists after it was significantly weakened due to last-minute amendments that conceded convenient loopholes to manufacturers.
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I'd like to see them guarantee availability of AR-15 parts! It's the ultimate right-to-repair rifle!
This is like that "the worst person you know (California) says something you agree with" meme right now for me