FTC has put out a letter warning six companies that it is illegal to void the warranty for products you purchase if you repair it yourself. This includes those warning stickers manufacturers use all too often "Void if opened".
"The letters warn that FTC staff has concerns about the companies’ statements that consumers must use specified parts or service providers to keep their warranties intact,"
FTC
Sony, Microsoft, and Apple all have devices that have a warranty that states any attempt to repair the device outside of their service centers is a violation of the warranty and will immediately void all future warranty work. This has been illegal since the federal law Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act back in 1975. It hasn't stopped companies like Apple from void warranties on MacBooks, iPhones, and iPads for years.
"Apple and others have crafty attorneys that know darned well that Magnuson-Moss exists as do anti-trust laws against 'tying agreements.' The contracts are very clever and appear to be within the law—but are anything but in practice,"
Gay Gordon-Byrne, executive director of the Repair Association
The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act applies to any consumer device that costs more than $15.
This doesn't just affect consumer electronics like iPhones, farmers have been fighting for the right to repair for a long time. Farming equipment has been purposely designed to extremely difficult to repair without specialized equipment that is very expensive to purchase or only available to the manufacturer. John Deere is well known for this practice and is a big issue for American farmers who depend on the ability to repair their own machines. The cost of manufacturer repairs is far more expensive than self-repair, well more than self-repair of your own cars to the point many farmers are having difficulty staying in business due to the burden repairs have put on them.
If you are interested in this, there are a lot of good videos on the farming industry and the right to repair.
The right to repair is something that has been argued about for years with consumers and manufacturers. It is good to see the FTC step and make it clear what the laws are to large manufacturers. Rumors are Sony & Microsoft are included in the six letters in regards to their console products (Playstation & XBox).
Now only if we can get a clear ruling on Jailbreaking, which has gone back and forth over the years. From what I have seen the government has claimed it both to be legal and illegal at different times.
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