Apple plays consumer safety card in 'Right to Repair' fight
Lobbyists representing Apple recently met with lawmakers over the passage of so-called "right to repair" legislation, warning that consumers could hurt themselves if they attempt to open and fix iPhone.
iPhone battery
Over the last few weeks, Apple has sent its own representative along with a CompTIA lobbyist -- an organization with which Apple is affiliated -- to meet with lawmakers in an attempt to squash a new California bill that would give consumers the right to repair their own devices, reports Motherboard.
The report cites two sources within the California State Assembly who confirm that Apple's lobbyists have been meeting with members of the Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee, campaigning against the repair bill that will go up for discussion this week.
During these closed-door meetings, the Apple representative brought an iPhone to demonstrate to legislators that an inexperienced consumer could easily hurt themselves by accidentally puncturing the lithium-ion battery contained within. That echoes public comments from Apple's vice president of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives Lisa Jackson, who said that the device is "too complex" for untrained consumers to repair themselves.
The California Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee will hold a hearing on the bill Tuesday afternoon.
Apple has continued to campaign against right to repair legislation, previously using its own lobbyists in different states before relying more on CompTIA. CompTIA is a lobbying organization that is funded by Apple, as well as Microsoft, Samsung and other tech firms.
More and more states have introduced this right to repair legislation, hitting 17 states as of January 2018.
Despite a hard stance against allowing consumers to conduct their own repairs, Apple in recent months has loosened some of the stringent guidelines around authorized fixes. In March, Apple updated its service policy to allow repairs on iPhones that contain third-party battery replacements. Previously, if an iPhone battery was replaced by a non-Apple authorized service technician, Apple could refuse to repair it.
Another change occurred when Apple quietly launched the new "Apple Genuine Parts Repair" program, which puts Apple service materials in the hands of some companies with fewer restrictions than current service providers may be under. Access to repair materials is a key request of right to repair advocates.
iPhone battery
Over the last few weeks, Apple has sent its own representative along with a CompTIA lobbyist -- an organization with which Apple is affiliated -- to meet with lawmakers in an attempt to squash a new California bill that would give consumers the right to repair their own devices, reports Motherboard.
The report cites two sources within the California State Assembly who confirm that Apple's lobbyists have been meeting with members of the Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee, campaigning against the repair bill that will go up for discussion this week.
During these closed-door meetings, the Apple representative brought an iPhone to demonstrate to legislators that an inexperienced consumer could easily hurt themselves by accidentally puncturing the lithium-ion battery contained within. That echoes public comments from Apple's vice president of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives Lisa Jackson, who said that the device is "too complex" for untrained consumers to repair themselves.
The California Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee will hold a hearing on the bill Tuesday afternoon.
Apple has continued to campaign against right to repair legislation, previously using its own lobbyists in different states before relying more on CompTIA. CompTIA is a lobbying organization that is funded by Apple, as well as Microsoft, Samsung and other tech firms.
More and more states have introduced this right to repair legislation, hitting 17 states as of January 2018.
Despite a hard stance against allowing consumers to conduct their own repairs, Apple in recent months has loosened some of the stringent guidelines around authorized fixes. In March, Apple updated its service policy to allow repairs on iPhones that contain third-party battery replacements. Previously, if an iPhone battery was replaced by a non-Apple authorized service technician, Apple could refuse to repair it.
Another change occurred when Apple quietly launched the new "Apple Genuine Parts Repair" program, which puts Apple service materials in the hands of some companies with fewer restrictions than current service providers may be under. Access to repair materials is a key request of right to repair advocates.
Comments
They would make Apple liable for an inexperienced person injuring or killing themselves by puncturing a battery while trying to remove it.
While replacing a battery isn’t too difficult, it can get tricky if you run into complications like broken adhesive pulls. That’s when novices try to pry the battery out and can end up
puncturing the battery and causing a fire or worse killing you from the fumes.
While I think there should be expanded repair options, especially for areas where Apple are not well represented - the legislation doesn't appreciate that technology, especially new technology is something where providing tools and parts may not be sufficient for a consumer to make a repair. E.G. The device to align the iPhone's camera is not a trivial piece of equipment.
The only reason that I tore down my Mac is that I could only use it as an oversized paperweight. Now I would simply like to have the logic board tested and, if the replacement GPU was available, repaired. And that's the reason that iFixit and other computer repair companies want replacement parts made available to them.
Second, your ability to repair or modify a car is limited by the availability of parts and tools just like it is with Apple products. For example, try buying transmission parts or tools for any BMW manufactured in the past 15 years.
And finally, Apple already permits third parties to repair most Macs and iOS devices.
This is nothing but a a bunch of clowns who decided to lobby for laws to force business to modify their products so those same clowns could repair them.
So long as this Right to Repair law prohibits litigation resulting from a consumer attempting a repair themselves (and getting hurt) or via a third party, such would eliminate that excuse from Apple and protect Apple too. The key here is to prevent stupids from using the Right to Repair law to sue Apple due to their own ineptness or fraud.
The 'safety' argument is a complete straw man argument. Again, using the car analogy, cars pose infinitely more safety risks than smart phones do but we don't think twice about making parts available for them.
They want planned obsolescence. Why else does the cost of any repair out of warranty of the HomePod cost almost as much as a new unit?
I know a russian guy (in america) who can swap out an android or iphone (6) screen in 10 minutes for $60. battery swaps equally cheap.
that kind of aftermarket work keeps gear in circulation and prevents new sales.
he can't do iphone 7 and up - no parts. though, he does sometimes get those parts from china when they 'overrun' a production order and sneak the overage out the back door.
safety? please: automobiles have real battery acid and gasoline (and they can fall off the jack and kill you) - compared to a Li battery pack?
it's about greed and limiting competition from used gear. not everyone's paying the apple tax.
However, people are free to repair their own cars, talk about hurting one's self and when someone screws up their car repair they can hurt and kill other people, we do not see the government getting in the middle of that one.