Agency eyes 'right-to-repair' rules to aid consumers, shops

Consumers would be freer to repair their broken cellphones, computers, videogame consoles and even tractors themselves or to use independent repair shops under changes eyed by federal regulators that target manufacturers’ restrictions

WASHINGTON -- Americans would be freer to repair their broken cellphones, computers, videogame consoles and even tractors themselves or to use independent repair shops under changes being eyed by federal regulators that target manufacturer restrictions. Responding to a new competition directive from the Biden White House, the Federal Trade Commission is moving toward writing new rules aimed at helping small repair businesses and saving consumers money on repair costs. The five FTC commissioners took up the so-called “right to repair” issue Wednesday. Unavailable parts, instruction manuals and diagnostic software and tools, product design restrictions and locks on software embedded in devices have made many consumer products harder to fix and maintain, regulators and industry critics say. Do-it-yourself repairs often require specialized tools, hard-to-obtain parts and access to diagnostic software that’s guarded by manufacturers. The restrictions have steered consumers into manufacturers’ and sellers’ repair networks or led them to replace products before the end of their useful lives, the regulators maintain. As the FTC and the Biden administration see it, that raises issues of anti-competitive conduct.