Have your electronics stopped working properly after some time of use?
Have you or anyone in your family noticed that electronic devices usually become slow and unresponsive after a year or two of use? Buying new electronics or even getting them repaired continuously is very time-consuming and costly.
This is a sad situation to be in. Yet, this situation is completely normal. In fact, companies which sell electronic devices plan for this to happen.
No repair person can fix these issues even if they try their best. That’s because today’s gadgets are so complicated that without a proper instruction manual and the availability of original high-quality parts, they can’t make much progress. The gadget company doesn’t supply either of these things.
How does the right to repair fit in this situation?
Companies plan their products in a way that they don’t last for long. This forces users to keep buying new versions of the product.
People are tired of companies forcing them to spend their hard-earned money on buying the same products over and over again.
Activists and organisations around the world are urging their governments to order companies to make their products easily repairable. This is known as the right to repair movement.
Why are large electronic companies against the right to repair?
If the right to repair becomes law then companies will stop getting extra profits that they earn by selling products that become old pretty quickly. That’s why big companies like Apple, Tesla, etc., are against the right to repair.
What is the world’s first right to repair law for electronics?
The world’s first-ever right to repair law for electronics was passed in New York, the USA, recently.
As per the law, all electronics manufacturers will have to make repair instructions, spare parts and tools available to both repair shops and individuals within the state of New York.
This is the biggest victory of the right to repair movement to date. Though it’s only in one state of one country right now, other states and countries are likely to follow in New York’s footsteps sometime soon in the future.
