Report recommends ways to expand consumers’ repair options, including more enforcement, and use of voluntary agreements between manufacturers and independent repairers.
In a new report to Congress, the Federal Trade Commission identifies numerous types of repair restrictions across industries such as mobile phones and automobiles. Concerns raised in the report and by proponents of an independent right to repair include manufacturers using adhesives on consumer electronics that make parts difficult to replace, limiting the availability of spare parts, and making diagnostic software unavailable.
The report’s findings, including that “there is scant evidence to support manufacturers’ justifications for repair restrictions,” are
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