The FTC is signaling that it's ready to crack down on the restrictions tech companies place on their products to prevent independent repairs.
“There is scant evidence to support manufacturers’ justifications for repair restrictions,” the FTC writes in a 56-page report it sent to Congress on Thursday.
The same report says the FTC is mulling “reinvigorated regulatory and law enforcement options, as well as consumer education” to address the problem. The document also notes the FTC enforces antitrust laws, which in some circumstances could make repair restrictions illegal.
The report claims that many companies try to prevent independent repair services from fixing a device through the product’s complicated design, unavailability of certain parts, imposing software locks on the device, patent enforcement, and by telling consumers to use company certified repair services—not a third party.
“Manufacturers explain that these repair restrictions often arise from their desire to protect intellectual property rights and prevent injuries and other negative consequences resulting from improper repairs,” the report says. However, in 2019, the FTC began hosting panels and asking members of the public—including those from tech companies and repair-to-right advocates—for comments on repair restrictions in the market.
The effort led the FTC to start poking holes in the tech industry’s justifications for placing the repair restrictions on their devices. For example, the report finds that manufacturers provided no data “to support their argument that injuries are tied to repairs performed by consumers or independent repair shops.” In addition, US intellectual property law permits a product owner to circumvent software locks or make a copy of a program if it’s only done for repair purposes.
“Moreover, the specific changes that repair advocates seek to address manufacturer repair restrictions (e.g., access to information, manuals, spare parts, and tools) are well supported,” the report adds.
Congress ordered the FTC to prepare the report in an effort to investigate anticompetitive practices in the repair market. In response, the commission says it wants to help open up the repair market, which would give consumers more choice, and potentially lower the costs of fixing broken electronics.
The end of the report offers a preview of how the FTC could tackle the problem. The commission notes that its continues to receive reports about companies violating a federal law governing warranties for consumer products. “The Commission takes these allegations seriously and will continue to address illegal practices in the marketplace,” it says.
“Alternatively, the Commission could engage in rule-making to declare certain types of repair restrictions illegal,” the report says. But such rule-making would only apply to when the product is still under warranty—not after, when the product is at greater risk of breaking.
Another option being explored is encouraging tech companies and the right-to-repair advocates to agree to a deal, enabling official diagnostic and repair information to be sold to independent repair shops. The other alternative is getting lawmakers to pass legislation to break down the repair restrictions.
Repair website iFixit applauded the FTC’s report, calling it a “rebuke” to tech companies trying to maintain the status quo. “This is a great step in the right direction,” says iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens. “The bi-partisan report shows that FTC knows that the market has not regulated itself, and is committing to real action.”