2023-10-24 23:40:00
Lael Brainard, director of the National Economic Council of the United States — which is part of the White House —, spoke today regarding a new initiative to be launched by Apple. The company will announce plans to make parts, tools and documentation needed to repair products manufactured by the company available to independent centers and stores across the country at “fair and reasonable” prices.
According to the Archyde.com, the statement was made prepared by the director for an event that will take place today at the White House on the right to electronic repair. It is worth remembering that Apple changed its position and even started to support a California law on the subject, which was even approved. The idea of the movement is to expand the control that people have in relation to the repair of their devices across the country.
Therefore, according to the American government, the company will also support a federal law on the right to repair. The legislative proposal is part of a larger initiative by the Joe Biden administration to promote competitiveness, combat repair taxes and other actions that increase costs for consumers. Brainard drew attention to the fact that states like New York, Colorado, Minnesota and 30 others have also approved similar legislation.
Apple also supports a uniform federal law that balances repairability with product integrity, data security, usability and physical security.
We believe a uniform federal repair law should do the following: Maintain privacy, data, and device security features that help prevent theft; ensure transparency for consumers regarding the type of parts used in a repair; apply prospectively, to allow manufacturers to focus on building new products that can deliver; and finally, create a strong national standard that benefits U.S. consumers and reduces confusion created by potentially conflicting state approaches.
—Brian Naumannvice president of services at Apple.
The main novelty in the initiative to be taken by Apple is, basically, applying the conditions established in California law to the entire country. Therefore, access to, for example, diagnostic equipment and other materials needed by independent repair centers must be provided, even if they continue to be manufactured by Maçã.
According to Brainard, electronics repair can save consumers money US$49.6 billion per year, as well as reducing almost 7 million tons of electronic waste, in addition to boosting the work of independent technical assistance.
The reaction to the project was not consensually positive. Nathan Proctor, leader of a movement for the right to repair, for example, stated that it will be necessary to see the implementation of the initiative in practice. As he said to Archyde.comApple has already made customers sign restrictive contracts, preventing them from having a large stock of parts and, therefore, making it difficult to compete with Apple’s own support.
It is worth remembering that Apple already supplies parts to some independent centers, allowing them to purchase components for out-of-warranty devices. The initiative to be initiated, however, will certainly be more comprehensive, including diagnostic devices. The company also offers the Self Service Repairsending parts directly to customers who want to repair their devices.
via 9to5Mac
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