[Themaintainers] Congress questions medical repair monopolies | Right to Repair Newsletter

[Nathan Proctor]

Hello all,

As some of you know, the Right to Repair campaign has a lot of connections
with the Maintainers, and I met many of you at MIII.

I wanted to share our latest newsletter with you all, which I am trying to
do once per month. If you want to be added to the list for next month, just
email me at nproctor at pirg.org and I can add  you to the list.

Our August 2020 update on the global efforts to let people fix their stuff

Right to Repair -- a campaign to remove barriers to fixing modern equipment
from cellphones to tractors -- put much of our state legislative work on
hold as a result of restrictions in response to COVID-19. In its place, our
work to empower repair put a new focus on addressing the barriers medical
repair technicians face when repairing ventilators and other critical
healthcare equipment. We’ve also continued our work to hold major
manufacturers accountable, as we gear up to restart our state legislative
advocacy efforts.

First ever federal Right to Repair bill introduced, aimed at helping
hospitals

Medical device repair has long been a part of the larger Right to Repair
campaign, but the pandemic has given new urgency to the damage of
monopolistic practices in the maintenance of medical technology. It’s not
only additional cost to our already over-priced healthcare system, the
inability to fix equipment onsite poses safety risks to patients. U.S. PIRG
has organized more than 500 biomedical engineers and technicians to support
Right to Repair.

In July, the U.S. PIRG Education Fund published Hospital Right to Repair
Restrictions
<https://uspirgedfund.org/reports/usp/hospital-repair-restrictions>, which
details the barriers medical repair technicians face due to manufacturer
monopolies over essential manuals, training, and parts. In our survey of
222 medical repair professionals, 91.8 percent reported that they have been
denied critical service information to healthcare equipment.

Based on our research, and in coordination with our federal team, Sen. Ron
Wyden (OR) and Rep. Yvette Clarke (NY) introduced the Critical Medical
Infrastructure Act to Congress in early August. “The Critical Medical
Infrastructure Act would remove the red tape preventing needed repairs
during the COVID-19 crisis,” said Sen. Wyden during a panel hosted by U.S.
PIRG. “The goal is simple: allow trained repair technicians to more easily
access information and tools required to complete maintenance and repair of
medical devices.” This bill is currently pending action in Congress.

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anWoogyGK_E&feature=youtu.be>

See Senator Wyden’s bill introduction news conference here
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anWoogyGK_E&feature=youtu.be>.

Right to Repair makes first appearance in a national policy platform

The recently approved 2020 Democratic Party Platform
<https://www.demconvention.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/2020-07-21-DRAFT-Democratic-Party-Platform.pdf>
includes farmers’ “right to repair their own farming equipment” instead of
relying on manufacturers. This acknowledgment signals the growing
prominence of right to repair in mainstream politics. To continue building
this momentum, we will maintain our efforts to garner bipartisan support
for right to repair legislation.

Repair could help address a critical shortage in school computers


As school starts for millions of students this week, America is some 5
million laptops short <https://apnews.com/01e9302796d749b6aadc35ddc8f4c946>
of what we need. Interviewing refurbishers, we found that we could meet a
lot of the shortfall if we removed barriers to repair and reuse for
secondhand computers, including both Right to Repair reforms as well as
addressing how responsible refurbishers can unlock remote-locked devices.


Apple inches toward to requests for access to repair materials

Apple announced that it would be expanding its Independent Repair Provider
(IRP) program to 140 additional repair shops
<https://uspirg.org/news/usp/apples-slow-expansion-repair-options-no-replacement-right-repair>
in July, and that it will include resources for laptop and desktop repair
in August
<https://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-repair/apple-expands-independent-repair-shop-program-to-mac-computers-idUSKCN25D1F7>.
As part of this program, authorized independent repair shops will have
access to some Apple parts and service tools. But independent repair
businesses that opt to become IRPs must sign a contract
<https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/qjdjnv/apples-independent-repair-program-is-invasive-to-shops-and-their-customers-contract-shows>
that is highly invasive to both the business and its customers. As we
told Reuters
<https://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-repair/apple-expands-independent-repair-shop-program-to-mac-computers-idUSKCN25D1F7>(in
an article that was also carried by the New York Times
<https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2020/08/17/business/17reuters-apple-repair.html>),
“At the end of the day, we either have a free market to fix the devices we
own, or we don’t.”

It also appears that Apple executives are not all on board with the
company’s approach to repair. The House Subcommittee on Antitrust published
internal Apple emails
<https://www.theverge.com/2020/7/30/21348240/apple-right-to-repair-legislation-antitrust-investigation-policy>
showing some executives feel the company is sending mixed messages by
expressing support for repair while opposing Right to Repair legislation in
20 states. The emails are further evidence of the success of our Right to
Repair efforts to win the argument that repair is essential -- even Apple
executives think we have a point!

Media questions Big Tech sustainability pledges over repair

Tech giants Apple and Microsoft made significant environmental pledges this
summer. Apple pledged to be carbon neutral by 2030
<https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2020/07/apple-commits-to-be-100-percent-carbon-neutral-for-its-supply-chain-and-products-by-2030/>,
and Microsoft made the goal of achieving “Zero Waste
<https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2020/08/04/microsoft-direct-operations-products-and-packaging-to-be-zero-waste-by-2030/>”
in its operations by 2030 as well.

However, these corporations’ active opposition to right to repair
legislation stands at odds with these lofty climate goals. As I told
the Washington
Post
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/07/21/apple-pledges-be-carbon-neutral-by-2030/>,
“The biggest sustainability problem with our relationship with tech is how
many items we buy and how quickly we dispose of them... If Apple is going
to hit its laudable, lofty climate goals, it will have to improve the
durability of its designs, stop locking its devices to thwart independent
repair and embrace that when people buy an Apple product, they should have
the right to repair it on their own terms.”

Junked by Design: The Bricked House

In the latest blog for our Junked by Design series, we ask: What happens
when your smart home goes offline? “Bricked House: How obsolescence looms
over our ‘smart’ home devices
<https://uspirg.org/blogs/blog/usp/bricked-house-how-obsolescence-looms-over-our-smart-home-devices>,”
explores the looming obsolescence issues facing smart home devices, and why
we need new rules to regulate product lifespans.

This newsletter going forward

By popular demand, we will be producing this summary newsletter every
month-ish to keep our growing list of partners and allies updated about our
work. If you don’t wish to get this update, please let me know.

-- 
Nathan Proctor
Director, U.S. PIRG Campaign for the Right to Repair
O: (857) 413-2534
C: (203) 522-3860
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