Legislation

California Confronts Tech Giants in Their Own Backyard

California just became the latest state to announce a Right to Repair bill—making it the eighteenth state considering this legislation this year. If passed, Right to Repair legislation would require manufacturers to publish repair information and make replacement parts and diagnostic tools available to consumers.

Assemblymember Susan Talamantes Eggman has just announced that she will be introducing the California Right to Repair Act. She states, “The Right to Repair Act will provide consumers with the freedom to have their electronic products and appliances fixed by a repair shop or service provider of their choice, a practice that was taken for granted a generation ago but is now becoming increasingly rare in a world of planned obsolescence.”

Proponents hold that these laws will encourage consumers to repair—instead of trash and replace—their products. By loosening manufacturer-imposed restrictions on parts availability and providing service information, more repairs will become more accessible. And it goes further than that—Right to Repair legislation would also help to return competition to the marketplace, giving consumers more options about where and how to repair their products. This not only creates jobs, but it also reduces the environmental impact of e-waste.

Right to Repair documents and repair tools

This year’s Right to Repair fight has gained considerable momentum—surpassing the twelve states who fought last year. California joins seventeen other states so far, including: Washington, Massachusetts, Vermont, New York, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Virginia.

For additional information about Right to Repair legislation in California, please visit Repair.org. Organizations like Repair.org are fighting for your right to repair—they make it easy to contact your California representatives. You can also do it the old-fashioned way and call them up. Let them know you care about repair and won’t be chained to monopolies. Every voice counts.

If you have any questions or would like to schedule an interview, feel free to contact me at kaykay@ifixit.com.