{"id":7035,"date":"2024-06-01T14:41:27","date_gmt":"2024-06-01T19:41:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/illinois\/resources\/milestones-pirg-champions-a-right-to-repair\/"},"modified":"2024-06-01T14:41:27","modified_gmt":"2024-06-01T19:41:27","slug":"milestones-pirg-champions-a-right-to-repair","status":"publish","type":"resource","link":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/illinois\/resources\/milestones-pirg-champions-a-right-to-repair\/","title":{"rendered":"Milestones: PIRG champions a Right to Repair"},"featured_media":53412,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":false,"_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":""},"campaign_tax":[],"display_option":[],"issue_tax":[],"resource_type":[88],"region_tax":[],"state":[2],"topic_tax":[189],"class_list":["post-7035","resource","type-resource","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"details":{"helper_taxonomies":{"topics":[189,215],"collection":false,"press_type":false,"person_type":false,"resource_type":88,"event_type":false,"campaigns":false,"department":false,"level":false,"states":[2],"act_option":false,"display_option":false,"primary":{"topic":null}},"subtitle":"","excerpt":"The Right to Repair campaign aims for a world in which people don't discard products due to limited repair options, but are empowered to fix stuff on their own.","featured_image":53412,"caption_override":"","updated_on":null,"sidebar_action":"","related_event":"","hide_hero_image":false,"location":"internal","external_link":{"publication_name":"","url":""},"file":null,"sidebar_action_query_string":""},"helper_people_group":{"title":"Authors","entities":null},"helper_downloads":{"title":"Downloads","files":null},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"

\u2018Batterygate\u2019 <\/strong><\/h3>\r\n

In December 2017, at the height of the holiday shopping season, users of Apple\u2019s iPhone discovered that the company had issued a software update that throttled phones\u2019 processors if the phone detected the battery was worn down, as is commonly the case in older phones \u2014 without alerting users to the need for battery service.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cWhen users discovered that a $30 battery repair would fix their slow, buggy phones, they flocked to get phones fixed,\u201d said Nathan Proctor, PIRG\u2019s Right to Repair Campaign Director. \u201cBut Apple didn\u2019t have enough capacity to fix all these phones right away, and huge waitlists formed.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

The waitlists illustrated how manufacturer-only repair had become a fragile, pricey and wasteful system. There weren\u2019t enough \u201cauthorized\u201d technicians to handle the volume of iPhone repairs. While a simple fix could have kept devices working, saving consumers money and keeping toxic chemicals out of our waste stream, the lack of repair options pushed consumers into buying new phones instead.<\/p>\r\n

In the weeks after \u201cBatteryGate\u201d became public, PIRG surveyed 164 independent repair businesses. They reported a cumulative 37% increase in weekly battery replacement service requests. Self-repair interest surged as well \u2014\u200a online traffic seeking iPhone battery repair instructions on iFixit.com went up 153% between Dec. 20, 2017 and Jan. 22, 2018.<\/p>\r\n

Our conclusion? People want the right to repair their own stuff \u2013 when they want, how they want, and with whom \u2013 outside of the manufacturer\u2019s control. After all, whose stuff is it anyway?<\/p>","":null}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_large_image","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_large_image":{"width":"narrow","image":53413,"caption_override":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"

The Right to Repair movement is born<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n

When people have little choice but to buy a new product when an old one breaks, they spend money they could otherwise save. That\u2019s the consumer protection side of Right to Repair.<\/p>\r\n

Beyond saving consumers time and money, Right to Repair holds out the promise of a new relationship to \u201cstuff.\u201d Instead of engaging in an endless cycle of buying stuff, using it, and throwing it away so we can replace it with new stuff, the Right to Repair movement imagines a different world \u2014 one in which more of us use the stuff we buy with care, and repair it before we consider throwing it away or even recycling it.<\/p>\r\n

Repair is the fourth \u201cR\u201d in the old ecological mantra: reduce, reuse, recycle. It also speaks to the conservative value of self-reliance. It\u2019s the rare issue that, thus far, transcends partisan politics.<\/p>\r\n

Yet too often, companies limit consumers\u2019 and independent repair shops\u2019 access to the parts, tools, service information and diagnostic software needed to fix electronics and other products.<\/p>\r\n

Restrictions on repairs to increasingly software-dependent John Deere tractors, for example, have inspired some farmers to hack<\/a> through the digital locks on their machines rather than have them hauled back to the dealer for an \u201cauthorized\u201d repair.<\/p>\r\n

In 2019, customers discovered that replacing the battery in an iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max or iPhone XR at a repair shop other than<\/a> an Apple store resulted in warning messages and disabled features.<\/p>\r\n

Restrictions on repair add up to inconvenience and frustration for consumers, thousands of whom have formed their own repair groups, clubs and online communities. And these restrictions also result in a mountain of e-waste \u2014 an estimated\u00a059 million tons<\/a> of it in 2019 alone.<\/p>","":null}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_large_image","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_large_image":{"width":"narrow","image":53422,"caption_override":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"

\u2018Why can\u2019t we just fix our stuff?\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n

In 2019, Nathan spoke at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)\u2019s \u201cNixing the Fix\u201d workshop, which investigated repair restrictions. At the event, he delivered 7,900\u00a0petition<\/a> signatures urging the FTC to take action. In 2021, Nathan joined iFixit and Repair.org in delivering 15,000 more signatures<\/a> to FTC commissioners. On May 6, the FTC released<\/a> its long-anticipated \u201cNixing the Fix\u201d followup report<\/a>, finding \u201cscant evidence to support manufacturers\u2019 justifications for repair restrictions\u201d and pledging to work with lawmakers on a remedy.<\/p>\r\n

In 2020, when restrictions threatened to slow down medical equipment repairs amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a PIRG campaign won<\/a> the release<\/a> of service information and access keys from ventilator manufacturers. That same year, PIRG\u2019s Right to Repair campaign was named<\/a> a finalist in Fast Company\u2019s \u201cWorld Changing Ideas\u201d contest.<\/p>\r\n

Meanwhile, our researchers have worked<\/a> with<\/a> iFixit to catalogue the devices most commonly in need of fixing in states around the country, with momentum for more action steadily growing. In 2018, 18 states<\/a> introduced Right to Repair legislation. Two years later, that number rose<\/a> to 20. In 2021, more than half<\/a> the states in the country introduced Right to Repair bills, in large part thanks to the work of Nathan, PIRG organizers, and our allies in the repair community.<\/p>\r\n

Opposition<\/a> from<\/a> trade<\/a> groups<\/a> and manufacturers has remained steadfast. In 2018, for example, lobbyists representing<\/a> Microsoft were instrumental in killing a right to repair bill in Washington, according to state Rep. Jeff Morris.<\/p>\r\n

The market value of these companies is measured in trillions of dollars \u2013 dollars with which they\u2019ve amassed considerable political clout. Even so, on July 29, 2021, President Biden signed an executive order that, among other provisions, calls on the Federal Trade Commission to act against restrictions on independent repair shops and DIY repairs.<\/p>\r\n

On Nov. 17, 2021, Apple reversed its longstanding policy against selling spare parts, providing repair instructions, and making repair software tools available to customers. This about-face came just days after the company pledged to stop deactivating Face ID after third parties repaired screens, and after years of action and advocacy by PIRG and other Right to Repair advocates.<\/p>\r\n

Green Century Capital Management*, The Public Interest Network\u2019s affiliated environmentally and socially responsible mutual fund company, had also filed a shareholder resolution with Apple calling for it to account for its anti-competitive repair policies, with Green Century President Leslie Samuelrich warning that Apple \u201crisks losing its reputation as a climate leader if it does not cease its anti-repair practices.\u201d Apple went to the Securities and Exchange Commission to challenge the resolution. On the same day Green Century was due to defend its position to the SEC, Apple announced its new policy.<\/p>","":null}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_large_image","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_large_image":{"width":"narrow","image":53415,"caption_override":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"About this series: <\/i><\/b>PIRG, Environment America and The Public Interest Network have achieved much more than we can cover on this page. You can find more milestones of our work on zero waste below. You can also explore an interactive timeline featuring more of our network\u2019s zero waste milestones.<\/span><\/i>","":null}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_featured_resource","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_featured_resource":{"resource":[7034]}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_featured_resource","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_featured_resource":{"resource":[7036]}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_featured_resource","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_featured_resource":{"resource":[7037]}}],"site_specific_content":""},"yoast_head":"\nMilestones: PIRG champions a Right to Repair<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Right to Repair campaign aims for a world in which people don't discard products due to limited repair options, but are empowered to fix stuff on their own.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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