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The EU just approved a "right to repair" bill!
The goal is to force manufacturers of goods to provide repair service for their products as well as encourage consumers to extend a product's lifecycle by repairing it.
Some key parts of the bill are that:
- Manufacturers have to provide timely and cost-effective repair services.
- Manufacturers have to inform consumers about their right to repair.
- Once a product is repaired by the manufacturer, they have to provide an additional 1 year warranty extension.
- Manufacturers are required to still offer repairs for common household items such as washing machines, vacuum cleaners, TVs, smartphones, etc, even after the warranty has expired.
- An online platform will be established where consumers will be able to find local repair shops or shops that sell refurbished goods (and I assume spare parts).
- Manufacturers will have to provide tools and spare parts at "reasonable prices".
- It will be illegal to write contract clauses that prohibit repairs, and it will also be illegal to use "hardware or software techniques that obstruct repairs". (Note: This won't be enforced if the manufacturer can provide "legitimate and objective factors" for why they have to implement such techniques. It will be up to the EU to decide of the arguments are valid or not though).
- They specifically state that manufacturers are not allowed to prevent second-hand or 3D-printed spare parts from being used at independent repair shops.
EU members will have 24 months to write a local law that complies with this directive.
It is also worth noting that the EU already has a directive that states that spare parts have to be available for 5-10 years after purchase (depending on the type of product). This is more of an extension of the already existing right-to-repair laws in the EU.