Technology giant Apple is planning to fight proposed electronics "Right to Repair" legislation being considered by the Nebraska state legislature. The legislation requires Apple and other tech manufacturers to sell repair parts to users and repair shops.
The manufacturers will have to make diagnostic and service manuals available to the public. Online reports claim that an Apple representative will testify against the bill at a hearing in Lincoln on March 9. AT&T is also expected to argue against the bill.
Nebraska is one of eight states that are considering right to repair bills; last month, Nebraska, Minnesota, New York, Massachusetts, Kansas, and Wyoming introduced legislation. Manufacturers have lobbied hard against right to repair legislation in the past.
The bills are pushed by Repair.org nationwide. Repair.org is a trade organisation for independent repair shops who claim that their business has been harmed by an attempt by manufacturers to gain a monopoly over the repair industry.
"They should want to give people as much information about how to deal with a hazardous thing as they can," Gordon-Byrne, executive director of Repair.org. said. "If they're concerned about exploding batteries, put warning labels on them and tell consumers how to replace them safely."
Repair.org aims to get at least one bill passed this year, the hope being that manufacturers won't want to deal with a patchwork of laws in different states around the country.
