Right to repair
The movement and legislation aimed at letting owners and independent shops fix electronics that manufacturers would rather fix themselves.
It started with cars, but what turned it into a software issue is that repairs are now blocked by code rather than screws. Tractors that need the maker's diagnostic software, phones that complain about a genuine screen taken from another phone because parts are paired by serial number, printers that reject third-party cartridges. In the US, the DMCA's ban on circumventing technical protection makes it illegal to get past the lock even when the owner only wants to replace a part, and exemptions have to be requested from the Library of Congress every three years.
Legislators have started moving. Several US states, with New York in 2022 first for electronics, have passed repair laws, and in 2024 the EU adopted a directive obliging manufacturers to offer repairs and spare parts. The industry's stock arguments — safety and intellectual property — have held up worse in committee rooms than in press releases.