Apple’s ‘Right to Repair’ volte-face is a big deal  Premium

Apple made U-turn on 'right to repair' laws, now backing bill to give consumers access to fix damaged electronic products. The DMCA, enacted in late 90s, barred third-party repairers from breaking software protection codes. 40 U.S. states are working on similar laws, while Apple has endorsed California's SB 244 bill. Move could disquiet other tech giants, while 'right to repair' movement continues to gain momentum.

Apple made a surprise U-turn on Thursday. The company that was against the ‘right to repair’ movement just a few years ago became its newest convert.  

At one point, Apple lobbyists reportedly told Nebraska state lawmakers that giving users unauthorised repair access would make the state a “mecca” for hackers. Now, the iPhone maker is backing a crucial piece of legislation that will hand consumers and third-party firms the right to fix damaged electronic products.

In a letter to Senator Susan Eggman, sponsorer of California’s ‘right to repair’ bill, Apple endorsed the proposed legislation in its current form as it sees the law would benefit users and protect their privacy and security.  

Apple’s support “will calm a lot of worry from those who are concerned about industry compliance,” Hayley Tsukayama, Associate Director, Legislative Activism at Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) said. 

“I certainly think it helps the bill, and I hope that it will make this bill more attractive to other states,” she added. 

In an ideal world, if you buy a product, you should be able to do anything you want with it. But that idea of ownership began to change at the start of this millennium as U.S. lawmakers enacted the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, or DMCA, in the late 90s to stem intellectual property theft.

This was a time when people were largely communicating with each other through land-line phones. Mobile handsets were just taking off and dial up connections were enabling entry into the world wide web.