New York Governor Signs New Right-to-Repair Law, but Advocates Say It's Toothless

The "right to repair" movement scored a win Wednesday, when New York's Democratic governor, Kathy Hochul, made her state the first in the US to establish that customers have the right to obtain diagnostic tools, parts and documentation from device makers in order to repair their devices. But right-to-repair advocates say the move will have limited impact.

The new law, called the Digital Fair Repair Act, is set to go into effect on July 1, and requires that manufacturers provide "documents like manuals and diagrams, and tools like diagnostics and parts" to consumers for many electronics, excluding items such as home appliances, vehicles and medical equipment. 

Hochul said in a statement Wednesday evening that the legislation "as drafted included technical issues that could put safety and security at risk." So she reached an agreement with the New York legislature that allows device manufacturers to provide "assemblies of parts," meaning companies won't be forced to sell individual components that may cost less, but instead can sell an "assembly," like a circuit board with included chips, at a higher price. Companies will also be allowed to guard any security override tools from the public.

"As technology and smart devices become increasingly essential to our daily lives, consumers should be able to easily fix the devices they rely on in a timely fashion," Hochul added in her statement, published on her office website and shared with local reporters. 

The move marks a step forward for advocates who'd been hoping New York would help to establish strong consumer protections as part of America's first right-to-repair bill. In theory, right-to-repair advocates say, consumers should be able to obtain manuals, parts and tools from manufacturers in order to fix their own devices, rather than having to rely on costly technicians trained by the device makers themselves. The result hopefully allows customers to keep products running for longer, while also hopefully keeping e-waste out of landfills.

Indeed, the New York League of Conservation Voters called Hochul's signing "another environmental win for the state," in a statement. Consumer Reports similarly cited hope the law would cut down on waste, saying in a statement, "When your device is broken, you should have more options than a high-priced service or the landfill."

In practice, though, Consumer Reports and other advocates noted that companies pushed back on the bill, arguing that only certain parts and documentation should be made publicly available. 

Advocates such as iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens -- who sells parts and tools and creates documentation about how to repair devices -- noted that the last-minute changes made to New York's bill before it was signed not only weaken protections for consumers but also exclude products made for and relied on by schools, hospitals, universities and government agencies. He and Consumer Reports also criticized the bill for applying only to newly sold devices after July 1.

Still, while he's disappointed the bill doesn't do more, Wiens called the law "a huge victory for consumers and a major step forward for the Right to Repair movement. New York has set a precedent for other states to follow, and I hope to see more states passing similar legislation in the near future."

Other states are considering similar legislation, and voters in Massachusetts approved a repair law in 2020 that forced carmakers to allow consumers access to vehicle diagnostic data.

Apple, Samsung, Google and Microsoft have meanwhile begun making some parts for recent devices available for people who want to repair those gadgets.