Tech's Repair Arguments to Hochul Were Debunked in 2021 FTC Report

The recent arguments of 15 tech groups that self-repair or independent servicing of smartphones, laptops and other electronic devices would expose consumers to risk of injury, force public disclosure of manufacturer trade secrets or weaken safeguards against consumer data and privacy breaches were debunked in a May 2021 FTC report to Congress that found “scant evidence to support manufacturers’ justifications for repair restrictions.” The tech groups including CTA, CTIA and the Information Technology Industry Council wrote New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) with those arguments June 29, urging her to veto the nation’s first digital electronics repair legislation (S-4104/A-7006) after it cleared the New York Assembly on a 145-1 vote more than a month ago (see 2207060004). Hochul's office has said little about the governor's intention to veto the legislation or sign it into law. Consumer tech devices “are at risk of hacking, and weakening of the privacy and security protections of those products,” as the legislation will do, and “will increase risks to consumers,” the tech groups told Hochul. The legislation also provides no protection for consumers and independent repair shops against injury, they also argued. Finally, they warned that providing unauthorized repair facilities and individuals “with access to proprietary information without the contractual safeguards currently in place between OEMs and authorized service providers places OEMs, suppliers, distributors, and repair networks at risk.”