I’ve covered right to repair before on the show – and now, again. Digital rights activists need to petition the Library of Congress every three years for exemptions to Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which says that breaking copyright protection to fix a device is a breach of the manufactures copyright.
Of note – technology like video game consoles are an example. Microsoft no longer repairs broken Xbox360 consoles, and often will not repair broken optical drives in the Xbox One, and newer models of the XB1 come with a circuit board that verifies the presence of the optical drive. If the exemption is not given for consoles this year, those broken systems are not repairable except by Sony and Microsoft.
Think about the implications of this for IT repair, because that’s why you care. I talk about regulation on the show… if you are servicing IT systems, you should care about these implications, and be looking for ways to get this addressed. That involves lobbying.
Source: VICE