Bypassing Software Locks To Fix Your Electronics Is Now LEGAL

[iamdarkyoshi]

Sweet tasty sauce: https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/xw9bwd/1201-exemptions-right-to-repair

 

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The Librarian of Congress and US Copyright Office just proposed new rules that will give consumers and independent repair experts wide latitude to legally hack embedded software on their devices in order to repair or maintain them. This exemption to copyright law will apply to smartphones, tractors, cars, smart home appliances, and many other devices.

 

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A good way to think about this is to consider MacBook Pro repair. As Motherboard reported earlier this month, Apple has a built-in kill switch that can prevent new MacBook Pros from functioning if they have been repaired by anyone who is not authorized to do so by Apple. It uses embedded software to do this, by requiring the computer to connect to Apple’s servers in order to verify that a repair is "authorized" This decision by the Copyright Office will make it legal to bypass that software lock, but actually doing it is another matter altogether.

 

 

I'm personally super glad to see Right to Repair making progress. This is a step in the right direction.

 

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The win demonstrates that right to repair advocates are making progress, but there’s still a long way to go until repair becomes easier for everyone.

 

I can't wait until we start getting a first party line of replacement parts. Working at a PC repair shop, I hate having to order stuff from ebay, like imac screens. Assuming you can even find one :^)

 

As always, discuss below but keep politics to a minimum

[Mira Yurizaki]

Is the definition of "repair or maintain" rigorously defined? Because if it's left up in the air, that means you can argue homebrewing is technically legal.

[Syntaxvgm]

2 minutes ago, M.Yurizaki said:

Is the definition of "repair or maintain" rigorously defined? Because if it's left up in the air, that means you can argue homebrewing is technically legal.

We're still arguing about "the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed", so I doubt this is rigorous enough. 

 

I hope it's enforced liberally on the side of consumers, protects them from legal action. 

[Brooksie359]

Wait this was illegal before?

[rcmaehl]

12 minutes ago, Brooksie359 said:

Wait this was illegal before?

Yes, breaking of encryption could get you in serious legal trouble under the Federal CFAA

[AlTech]

14 minutes ago, Brooksie359 said:

Wait this was illegal before?

Yes. Motherboard (Same source as this news) made a documentary video on YouTube a while back about Farmers who hacked their Tractors and pirated the Diagnostic tools to fix their tractors

[Brooksie359]

Just now, rcmaehl said:

Yes, breaking of encryption could get you in serious legal trouble.

I could see that being the case if it was someone else's device but if you only break it for your own I thought it would be ok. 

[Mira Yurizaki]

13 minutes ago, Brooksie359 said:

Wait this was illegal before?

The company could argue by hacking to get around say encryption or DRM, you are violating DMCA.

[AlTech]

1 minute ago, rcmaehl said:

Yes, breaking of encryption could get you in serious legal trouble.

Not by itself afaik.

[Brooksie359]

1 minute ago, AluminiumTech said:

Yes. Motherboard (Same source as this news) made a documentary video on YT a while back about Farmers who hacked their Tractors and pirated the Diagnostic tools to fix their tractors

If the law comes after them at least they can get away on their tractor. No way they gonna catch them then. 

[rcmaehl]

3 minutes ago, AluminiumTech said:

Not by itself afaik.

It COULD be argued that you "having knowingly accessed a computer without authorization or exceeding authorized access". The DRM was preventing unauthorized access.

[SolarNova]

Legal ,, illegal ...irrelivant. .what matters is whether or not u get caught 

 

if 'the system' never knows what ur doing it really doesnt matter if 'it' thinks its right or wrong, since 'it' never knows ur doing or not doing it in the 1st place.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

The only problem is, unless the law has enforcement teeth in it, a manufacturer could still block your access and you would have to sue to gain it.

[Taf the Ghost]

25 minutes ago, Brooksie359 said:

Wait this was illegal before?

 

14 minutes ago, rcmaehl said:

Yes, breaking of encryption could get you in serious legal trouble under the Federal CFAA

Depends what you were breaking & how, but some of them could involve breaking actual encryption. Getting around encryption is rarely illegal.

[GDRRiley]

good idea but I agree with @Lady Fitzgerald it needs teeth otherwise nothing will happen.

[Delicieuxz]

It's redundant to say that you're suddenly allowed to make use of your property as you see fit. The right to do so is what owning property is. When you buy something, you become entitled to the extent of what you've purchased and can modify it in any way.

 

'Right to repair' is doubting reality and shows that a society is undergoing collective cognitive atrophying.

[Trik'Stari]

4 hours ago, rcmaehl said:

It COULD be argued that you "having knowingly accessed a computer without authorization or exceeding authorized access". The DRM was preventing unauthorized access.

Nevermind that it's a computer you own and physically possess.

 

 

2 hours ago, Delicieuxz said:

It's redundant to say that you're suddenly allowed to make use of your property as you see fit. The right to do so is what owning property is. When you buy something, you become entitled to the extent of what you've purchased and can modify it in any way.

 

'Right to repair' is doubting reality and shows that a society is undergoing collective cognitive atrophying.

Funny, I've always used this argument for property tax.

 

If you've paid off your house, and owe no money on it, but don't pay taxes on it, the government can take it.

 

So in what way do you actually own it?

[Gullerback]

so glad this  applies to farmers.. they've been having a bastard of a time because of computer run tractors breaking down

[cj09beira]

very good news

 

[descendency]

5 hours ago, Syntaxvgm said:

 We're still arguing about "the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed", so I doubt this is rigorous enough. 

 

I hope it's enforced liberally on the side of consumers, protects them from legal action. 

The definition of speech is routinely argued. If the word is used in legal doctrine, it will be questioned at some point.

 

edit: As far as homebrewing is concerned, I would think that it would be argued that the actions taken *add* functionality and therefore are not in an effort to "repair" or "maintain". 

[Delicieuxz]

37 minutes ago, Trik'Stari said:

Nevermind that it's a computer you own and physically possess.

 

 

Funny, I've always used this argument for property tax.

 

If you've paid off your house, and owe no money on it, but don't pay taxes on it, the government can take it.

 

So in what way do you actually own it?

Well, in Canada, you buy a house and don't pay taxes on it. But, you don't actually own land, you lease it from the provincial or federal government - and so you pay taxes on it. So, the taxes are for the property, and not for the house that sits on the property.

 

I assume it's the same in the USA, except that the US' laws and their wording are really dumb, fractured, incongruous in a lot of ways, like they're made-up on a moment to moment basis without any sight and understanding of a truth-based bigger picture - just like ' right to repair' is pointless if the concept of buying and owning something isn't forgotten about, since buying and owning something already encompasses all rights over that thing.

[kevdagoat]

Hooray for Apple third party repair!

[piemadd]

louis will be heppy

[kevdagoat]

1 hour ago, ImplosiveNUTech said:

louis will be heppy

He will indeed

[Speed Weed]

Apple: - Heavy Breathing -