Right to repair movement: An assignment
About the movement
Consumers often spend huge amount of money on these appliances and gadgets, and sometimes find them to become obsolete within a few years after purchase. For example, a smartphone’s battery is likely to degrade over time and slow down the device’s performance. And, if the battery is not replaceable, the consumer is forced to dump the device and spend thousands of rupees on a new phone.
Fragile and irreparable components also reduce the life of a product. Manufacturers, too, drop support for functional devices, and non-standard parts. Most modern technology consists of irreparable and irreplaceable components, especially if it is powered by sophisticated computer chips.
With products becoming difficult to repair, activists and consumer organisations are advocating the ‘Right to Repair’ movement, which aims to enable consumers to repair their electronics products by themselves or third-party technicians.
Why this movement?
In the 1950s, Brook Stevens, an American industrial designer, pointed out the term ‘planned obsolescence’, a marketing practice in which manufacturers artificially shorten product lifecycles and encourage consumers to buy new products every few years. This practice favoured sellers and made them influence buying decisions to improve sales and increase profit.
Critiques of the planned obsolescence method say that a component repair industry could boost local businesses and create jobs. Some even note that the possibility of repairing products could cut electronic waste.
Manufacturing an electronic device is a highly polluting process. It makes use of polluting sources of energy, such as fossil fuel, which has an adverse impact on the environment. For instance, a New York Times report states that the mining and manufacturing materials used to make an iPhone “represent roughly 83 per cent of its contribution to the heat-trapping emissions in the atmosphere throughout its life cycle”, according to manufacturing data released by Apple. It’s about 57 per cent for the average washing machine.
Therefore, US President Joe Biden signed an executive order calling on the Federal Trade Commission to curb restrictions imposed by manufacturers that limit consumers’ ability to repair their gadgets on their own terms- either themselves or using a technician of their choice. The UK, too, introduced right-to-repair rules that should make it much easier to buy and repair daily-use gadgets such as TVs and washing machines.
Opposition
Tech giants including Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and Tesla disfavour the movement stating it threatens the protection of intellectual property and trade secrets.
These companies are constantly claiming that they are working towards greater durability themselves. This year, Apple took more steps towards reducing its contribution to e-waste. It has expanded its free, independent repair provider programme in 200 countries and extended access to genuine spare parts, information on repairs and tools for out of warranty repairs.
Microsoft has pointed out how it improved the battery and hard drive of its third-generation Surface Laptop after it was criticised for making it next to impossible to replace the battery in older models.
Current Status
As of 2021, almost all of the 50 US states have proposed a right to repair bill, however, only one, Massachusetts, has made it a law.
In July, 2021, the UK government introduced right-to-repair rules with the aim of extending the lifespan of products by up to 10 years. Manufacturers of products like washing machines, TVs and refrigerators are required to make spare parts available to people purchasing electrical appliances. The new legislation gives manufacturers a two-year window to make the necessary changes to abide by the new legislation.
(Note: Information is taken from Repair.org, The Hindu and The Indian Express)
