Five US states pass a “right to repair” bill

Lawmakers in five US states have introduced legislation that would give you the “right to repair” electronics, including smartphones. This means manufacturers will have to sell replacement parts to independent repair shops.

The monopoly, created by companies themselves with their “authorized repair” shops will be disrupted in Nebraska, Minnesota, New York, Massachusetts and Kansas, if passed.

The bill says that you can go to third parties for your electronics such as TVs, smartphones and even washing machines and refrigerators.

Legislators from New York say that "limited authorized channels result in inflated, high repair prices and high overturn of electronic items.

They also added that “another concern is the large amount of electronic waste created by the inability to affordably repair broken electronics.”

The bills will be voted in early summer but the political battle is tough with Repair.org, representing independent repair companies on the one side and lobbyists backed by Apple on the other.

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