Right to Repair

Have you ever heard this term? I'll be honest, before getting into the electronics repair business I hadn't. It currently has my full attention. After all, it will very likely determine whether I am able to continue operating as a small electronics repair business in the future.

So why should you care? Because legislation addressing this issue will likely have a big impact financially on you the consumer. Additionally, Nebraska was considered the testing ground for legislation that is being introduced all over the nation. Unfortunately a bill in the Nebraska Legislature stalled earlier this month. A new version will likely be introduced next year.

The objective of these bills is to preserve the right of consumers and small repair companies to repair electronics. Large corporations such as Apple, Samsung, etc. are increasingly designing their products as to make them non-reparable. They are being engineered to be next to impossible to repair without certain schematics, diagnostic or encoding instruments and specialty parts and these means are being made extremely difficult and expensive to acquire.

What does this mean for the consumer? What it always means. You are going to pay more money. Apple already charges ridiculous prices to have a repair done in their service centers. Imagine the cost if small repair shops aren't able to compete to bring the cost down.

This doesn't just affect the consumer electronics industry either. A big reason this issue has been at the forefront in Nebraska is its potential impact on farmers. The medical device field is impacted as well. There are very few people this legislation won't impact. So please make your voice heard and let your representatives know you care.

If you want to learn more I have linked a very good article published by The Guardian that explains the Right to Repair issue better than I can. Or just Google it. There is a lot of info out there. Thanks for reading.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/mar/11/nebraska-farmers-right-to-repair-bill-stalls-apple