While human beings are surely the smartest species to ever grace this world, the whole dynamic hasn’t been enough to save us from our own shortcomings. You see, alongside all their capabilities, humans have repeatedly shown a knack of making mistakes. Now, while these mistakes would actually go on to teach us a lot, some of them will also end up causing irreparable damage along the way, therefore forcing us look for a foolproof defense mechanism. We will, on our part, find the stated mechanism once we bring dedicated regulatory bodies into the fold. The move was an absolute game-changer, as it wasted no time in making us feel more protected than ever before. However, the feeling was notably short-lived, and it was all because of technology. We say this, because with technology and its layered nature taking over the scene, certain people suddenly had a prime shot at exploiting others. Such a dynamic, like you can guess, nullified whatever we had achieved under regulatory stewardship. Fortunately, that won’t be the last power shift of our lifetime. After some struggle, the regulatory bodies are now finally making a comeback. While their bid to reclaim authority seems to be rooted in many different factors, the latest one to join the party emerges from the New York State.
The New York state legislature has officially signed off on US’ first ever “right to repair’ bill, which is solely focused on electronics. Deemed as the Fair Repair Act, the bill introduces a whole new mandate for the manufacturers in regards to ensuring that all the tools, parts, and relevant instructions are available without any hidden caveats or general hiccups. As per certain reports, the bill will go into effect one year after getting the formal approval from Governor Kathy Hochul, who is still yet to provide it with the final nod. Furthermore, the new legislation notably won’t cover some elements, even though they are understood to be electronic. This exceptions’ list includes automobiles, medical devices, and home appliances. A part of the reason why they are exempted revolves around some national laws that cover them already.
“The passage of this bill means that repairs should become less expensive and more comprehensive: people who want to fix their own stuff can,” stated iFixit, a self-repair group. “Where before, manufacturers could push consumers to use manufacturer-authorized shops, now they’ll have to compete.”
While it’s the first bill that is predicated upon electronics, New York isn’t the first US state to have a right to repair act. Other states like Massachusetts and Colorado have been quicker in terms of invoking the law for stuff like automobiles and powered wheelchairs.
The move from New York authorities comes after President Biden signed an executive order, which was specifically designed to encourage better enforcement of repair rights.