New York Governor Signs Amended Last-Minute Right to Repair Bill

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New York State Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law the Digital Fair Repair Act, months after it was passed by both houses of the state legislature with overwhelming bipartisan majorities. The bill was originally passed in June, but it was not officially sent to Hochul's office until earlier that month; the governor had until midnight December 28 to sign the bill, veto it, or allow it to pass without his signature.

The Digital Fair Repair Act is the nation's first right to repair bill that has been passed by a state legislature (instead of being implemented by executive order), and has been hailed as "setting a precedent" through the right to reparation. -fix defense groups like iFixit. The law will require companies to provide the same diagnostic tools, repair manuals, and parts to the public that they provide to their own repair technicians.

But tech industry lobbyists and trade groups like TechNet had already worked to weaken the law as it progressed through the state legislature, and the bill Hochul signed contains even more conditions. and exceptions, apparently added to address the governor's concerns. on "technical issues that could put safety and security at risk, as well as increase the risk of injury from physical repair projects."

"I am pleased to have reached an agreement with the legislature to resolve these issues," Hochul wrote.

Specifically, only devices manufactured and sold in New York on or after July 1, 2023 will need to meet the requirements of the law, excluding any products currently in existence, those that people already own, and that they might want to fix at some point. points down the line. "Business-to-business" and "business-to-government" equipment that is not sold to consumers is also excluded. And manufacturers won't be required to provide passwords or other tools to bypass device security locks - overall probably good for the anti-theft features that Apple and other manufacturers are offering for phones stolen, but bad for people who locked themselves out of otherwise functional devices because they forgot a password or can't find a recovery key.

Manufacturers may also choose to supply "assemblies" of parts instead of single parts "when the risk of improper installation increases the risk of injury". If you wanted to replace your phone's screen or battery, for example, a company might supply you with a screen or battery with a bunch of extra cables or other parts connected to it, whether you need those parts or not. This could increase the cost of repairs, decreasing their appeal.

These compromises are in addition to some general exemptions already provided in the original bill, which exclude medical devices, motor vehicles, off-road equipment or household appliances.

Right to repair activists have welcomed the bill's passage while acknowledging that the trade-offs make it weaker than it should be.

"This is a huge win for consumers and a big step forward for the Right to Repair movement," wrote iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens. “New York has set a precedent for other states to follow, and I hope to see more states pass similar legislation in the near future.”

“The right to repair bill that I spent seven years of my life trying to get passed in my home country has been screwed,” said activist Louis Rossmann in a video explaining the changes Hochul made to the bill. "And it's funny, it got screwed up exactly the way I thought...Because getting it through without being tainted or screwed up would actually be good for society, and that's not something the New York State does...