Minnesota passes a right to repair bill that actually matters
The right to repair the devices consumers own is a touchy subject, but for fans of the idea in Minnesota, there's good news.
Apple repair program
In April of this year, both houses in the Minnesota Legislature passed right to repair language that's part of a larger bill. It is designed to give those living within the state more repair options in general.
The Digital Fair Repair Act allows Minnesotans to choose how they get their devices repaired, whether independently, with a third-party shop, or with the manufacturer directly. And now the bill has passed.
Governor Walz signed the bill today, and the law will go into effect beginning July 1, 2024. It will apply to most consumer products produced after July 1, 2021, with a few exceptions.
The exceptions to the new bill are as follows:
Once the bill goes into effect, manufacturers will be required to offer up various resources for people living in Minnesota. That includes the same parts, tools, and documentation that manufacturers use with their repair processes.
This offers more options for Minnesota residents and independent repair shops, as they will get the same resources. Moreover, the law dictates that manufacturers must offer these resources for free -- even to folks outside Minnesota.
iFixit's CEO, Kyle Wiens, praised the new bill:
Compared to New York's, Minnesota's bill has some major differences, including business-to-business and business-to-government sales, which means schools with aging or failing laptops can get them fixed. Circuit boards are also included in the Minnesota bill, something not present in New York's.
Apple has pushed back against the right-to-repair efforts for quite some time, citing all sorts of reasons, including safety for the consumer. However, the company launched its own Self Service Repair program for iPhones last year.
Read on AppleInsider
Apple repair program
In April of this year, both houses in the Minnesota Legislature passed right to repair language that's part of a larger bill. It is designed to give those living within the state more repair options in general.
The Digital Fair Repair Act allows Minnesotans to choose how they get their devices repaired, whether independently, with a third-party shop, or with the manufacturer directly. And now the bill has passed.
Governor Walz signed the bill today, and the law will go into effect beginning July 1, 2024. It will apply to most consumer products produced after July 1, 2021, with a few exceptions.
The exceptions to the new bill are as follows:
- Video game consoles
- Farm equipment
- Medical devices
- Motor vehicles
- Cybersecurity tools
Once the bill goes into effect, manufacturers will be required to offer up various resources for people living in Minnesota. That includes the same parts, tools, and documentation that manufacturers use with their repair processes.
This offers more options for Minnesota residents and independent repair shops, as they will get the same resources. Moreover, the law dictates that manufacturers must offer these resources for free -- even to folks outside Minnesota.
iFixit's CEO, Kyle Wiens, praised the new bill:
Right-to-repair efforts have also cropped up in other states to varying degrees of success. In December of last year, for instance, New York State passed a right to repair bill that many deemed "toothless.""The repair revolution arrived in Minnesota today! Now independent repair shops can compete, and everyone who wants can fix things themselves. With online documentation, people everywhere in the world-- not just in Minnesota-- will benefit from this. Manufacturers, get ready. Everyone else, get fixing."
Compared to New York's, Minnesota's bill has some major differences, including business-to-business and business-to-government sales, which means schools with aging or failing laptops can get them fixed. Circuit boards are also included in the Minnesota bill, something not present in New York's.
Apple has pushed back against the right-to-repair efforts for quite some time, citing all sorts of reasons, including safety for the consumer. However, the company launched its own Self Service Repair program for iPhones last year.
Read on AppleInsider
Comments
Apple has little choice but to fight this in court. This law as written is incompetent and dangerous.
You answered your own question. Lobbying. That's how farm equipment was exempted as well.
No, applguy said "lobbing". The way to get government on your side is to throw things at them!
I had to actually look up smart sneakers. I can't believe I haven't read about them anytime in the past 3-4 years.
manufacturer offers the tool, software, or documentation to an authorized repair provider,
including any discount, rebate, or other financial incentive offered to an authorized repair
"Once the bill goes into effect, manufacturers will be required to offer up various resources for people living in Minnesota. That includes the same parts, tools, and documentation that manufacturers use with their repair processes.
This offers more options for Minnesota residents and independent repair shops, as they will get the same resources. Moreover, the law dictates that manufacturers must offer these resources for free -- even to folks outside Minnesota."
While iPhones and the like are not likely to present the sort of safety hazards as DIY repaired medical instrumentation, it seems plausible that some regulated aspect of an Apple product's performance could be compromised by a shoddy repair. This issue isn't as cut-and-dry as many thing.
Also, you all are right about the farming equipment. It looks like they've passed this law to divert the attention from the actual issues. a
With medical there's a clear legal reasoning and consequence as people can be physically hurt by bad equipment, hence why it's expected to be heavily regulated. With phones, well, you yourself can't come up with such a regulation. The only such regulation that I can think of is radio regulation, and I find it hard to believe that it's possible to create serious radio interference with a phone of all things without it being deliberate. Actual radio equipment is freely available on the market anyway, not to mention self built radios in the ham radio community.