New York breaks the right to repair bill as it’s signed into law

The Digital Fair Repair Act will go into effect on July 1st, 2023, after Kathy Hochul signed it. In order to repair their own devices, consumers and independent repair providers have a right to get manuals, diagrams, diagnostics and parts from original equipment manufacturers. The bill was compromised at the last minute by amendments that gave OEMs some convenient exceptions and loopholes to get out of obligations that right to repair advocates had been hoping for.

One of the most controversial changes in the law is that original equipment manufacturers can sell parts rather than individual components. Passwords, security codes or materials won't be required by the bill in order to save a locked device.

Louis Rossmann is a repair technician who has been a fierce advocate of toothy right to repair legislation. Today, Rossmann responded to the amended bill with a video full of analysis and criticism.

Hochul claims in her signed memo that the bill was amended to reduce the risk of physical harm or security issues while making repairs, an amendment that Rossman callsbullshit and expects manufacturers to exploit in circumvention of the spirit of the bill.

The bill uses the term "digital electronic equipment" to cast a wide net. Home appliances, motor vehicles, medical devices, and off-road equipment are exempt from the tax.

Which historical devices are covered by law is one of the big amendments mentioned in the governor's memo. July 1st, 2023 is the date when devices manufactured for the first time as well as sold or used in New York for the first time are eligible for coverage, according to the memo. The full text of the final amended bill needs to be analyzed.

Many of the bill's supporters are celebrating after a long fight. The senior right to repair campaign director at the US Public Interest Research Group shares a statement.

“I’ve pushed for repair reforms in dozens of states, and been told by industry lobbyists that we’d never see a floor vote, that we’d never pass a bill, that a governor would never sign it. And while it’s not everything we wanted, it’s the first of its kind in the nation, and just the start.”

There is a right to repair law in New York. It is the most sweeping one that has been enacted. The effort to pass legislation has made a difference. The New York bill made several companies change their minds on right to repair, with companies such as iFixit selling phone components. Apple leased giant repair kits to people who wanted to make home repairs, as well as launching an internal study to make more repairable products.