Democratic Assembly Member Patricia Fahy (A.D. 109) and fair repair advocates applauded Gov. Kathy Hochul’s recent signature of the Digital Fair Repair Act, passed this year by the New York State legislature with overwhelming bipartisan support. The landmark law allows individuals and small businesses to repair digital devices, and requires electronic manufacturers to provide the manuals and parts to do so, ending ‘Big Tech’s’ monopoly on New York State’s repair market.

 

Products covered by the legislation include digital electronic devices commonly used by all New Yorkers, such as smartphones, handheld devices, and computers. New York becomes the first state in the nation to enact strong, comprehensive ‘Right to Repair’ legislation, which will go into effect within a year, according to the office of the assemblywoman who represents the City of Albany and towns of Bethlehem, Guilderland, and New Scotland.

 

In May 2021, the Federal Trade Commission’s report ‘Nixing the Fix: An FTC Report to Congress on Repair Restrictions’ found that “there is scant evidence to support manufacturers’ justifications for repair restriction,” and that the specific changes that repair advocates seek to address e.g. access to information, manuals, spare parts, and tools are well supported.

 

There are roughly 1,200 different makes and models of cell phones available in the U.S. today, according to officials from Fahy’s office. Most of what were described as these lower-cost devices cannot be repaired at all due to lack of access to parts, manuals, diagnostics tools or firmware. They said any locally-owned, small repair shop fixing Apple or Samsung phones already has more than enough skill to fix these less common brands, in addition to other devices.

 

In a recent survey, officials said the U.S. Public Interest Group (USPIRG) documented job growth related to passing the Digital Fair Repair Act and other “right to repair” legislation, finding that existing repair shops plan to hire 15 percent more employees immediately upon passage of the “right to repair” law. According to the survey, the full potential of job growth is more than 400 percent as businesses currently limited to a handful of repair-accessible brands can quickly expand their service offerings to cover similar, but repair-monopolized, products. 

 

The same study found New York families will save big by having the right and access to repair their electronics. Key findings from the study included that New York consumers would save a collective $2.4 billion per year, the average New York family would save approximately $330 per year and would reduce household spending on electronics and appliances by 22 percent. It also found that New York would also reduce its 655,000 tons of electronic waste discarded every year.

 

Of the new law, Fahy said New York was leading the nation again with the new law, by putting consumers first, leveling the playing field for independent repair shops, and reducing the State’s e-waste footprint on the environment. “Under the law, electronics manufacturers must allow access to critical information and parts required by independent, local repair shops to complete repairs on many electronic products, ending what is a monopoly on the repair market by big tech, and incentivizing competition,” she said.

 

“At the same time, we’re also reducing the 655,000 tons of toxic e-waste produced discarded in a single calendar year here in New York State, where 85 percent of that waste ends up in a landfill.” Fahy continued, “Thank you to Gov. Kathy Hochul for signing the legislation into law, [State] Sen. Neil Breslin for sponsoring the bill in the Senate, and all of the tireless fair repair advocates who worked to get the Digital Fair Repair Act over the finish line this year.”

 

Fahy said that while the new law represents a compromise after a vigorous campaign against the “right to repair” by big tech, she was proud that consumers and small businesses prevailed in the end. “We are hopeful this will spur other states into action, galvanize the effort to enact a right to repair law at the national level, and that all Americans will eventually enjoy a comprehensive and real ‘right to repair’.”

 

The new legislation was also welcomed by Chuck Bell, advocacy program director for Consumer Reports, Sen. Kevin Thomas and Assembly Member Nily Rozic, Gay Gordon-Byrne, executive director of The Repair Association, Kyle Wiens, iFixit co-founder, Nathan Proctor, U.S. PIRG senior “right to repair” campaign director, NYPIRG general counsel, Russ Haven, Caitlin Ferrante, conservation program manager at Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter, Rich Schrader, New York legislative and policy director for Natural Resources Defense Council, Peter A. Baynes, executive director of NYCOM, Ashley Ranslow, New York State director, National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), and Robert Schneider, NYSSBA executive director.