We helped win the Right to Repair in California. Now we’re working to bring repair access nationwide 

When something you own breaks, like your phone or your refrigerator, your first instinct is probably to get it fixed. You may try to fix it on your own or call up a local repair shop for help. But for too long, manufacturers of electronics and appliances made that very hard to do – intentionally withholding the parts, tools, and repair materials needed to fix our stuff. 

If your only option when something breaks is to go to the original manufacturer, that means they could charge whatever they want for repairs or push us to buy new. That’s more cost for consumers, and more electronic waste in our landfills and environment. 

That’s why CALPIRG worked to pass the Right to Repair Act, which went into effect in 2024. The new law requires manufactures make repair materials available to consumers and independent repair shops – increasing repair competition and helping us keep our devices in use longer.  

If our laptops and desktop computers lasted one year longer, the amount of pollution eliminated would be equivalent to taking more than 250 thousand typical cars off the road for a year.

While it’s great that Californians will now be able to enjoy the financial and environmental benefits of the Right to Repair, we want to bring these benefits to everyone across the country. 

This April, CALPIRG is joining U.S. PIRG and other State PIRG affiliates in Washington DC to lobby in support of federal repair laws. Specifically, we’re working to pass the following bills through Congress: 

The Freedom to Fix Act

Copyright law makes it illegal to bypass digital locks that protect copyrighted materials. The purpose is to prevent infringement, but manufacturers are abusing the law by also locking repair functions, making it a crime to repair devices we legally own. It should never be a crime to repair our own stuff and the Freedom to Fix Act will help ensure that’s the case by creating a narrow repair exemption to copyright law. 

The Servicemember Right-to-Repair Act

The U.S. military faces the same manufacturer imposed Right to Repair restrictions as everyday Americans. The inability of servicemembers to fix their own equipment costs taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars, degrades military readiness and ultimately puts their lives at risk. The Servicemember Right to Repair Act will help fix these problems by requiring the Department of Defense to retain the right to repair equipment it acquires and owns.

Thanks to California’s leadership, Right to Repair movement is gaining momentum across the country. In addition to these proposed federal bills, states across the country are advancing repair legislation. Read more in our State of Repair report.