The 'right to repair' bill gains backing from President Biden and Apple co-founder Wozniak

Engineers rejoice, right to repair is gaining momentum
(Image credit: Valve)

Right to repair laws are gaining momentum, with new support popping up across the US. Not only has Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak been showing his support for the regulations, it now looks as if the Biden Administration will be backing the bill, too (PCMag, eTeknix).

Board walk

(Image credit: MSI)

Best gaming motherboard: the best boards around
Best AMD motherboard: your new Ryzen's new home

If you haven't already seen the propaganda, the right to repair essentially forces tech manufacturers to make parts more readily available to the public. It gives unassociated repair outlets and users a free pass to tinker with equipment, rather than sending it back to the manufacturer for what can often be extortionate repairs. It could also see a reduction in consumers throwing out easily fixable gadgets, limiting waste as well as outgoings on brand new tech.

But the right to repair doesn't come without risks. Concerns range from improperly installed components, such as batteries, having the potential to cause harm (Bloomberg); personal data being more at risk of being stolen (Electrek); and, for anyone with a stake in the industry itself, going open source would mean giving up blueprints to the public.

Though the range of tech covered by the right to repair will vary from place to place, it's the kind of law that could lift the stifling rules some tech companies set regarding unofficial repairs. Apple for example is notorious for these kinds of limitations, and as such is one of the most fervent opponents of the legislation (BBC).

Since the company did away with the likes of the Apple 2, should your device break, your only option has been to get it repaired at an Apple-approved store, or by an official Apple 'Genius.' But with the recent Covid-19 pandemic seeing high streets all but abandoned, Apple repairs have ended up with something like 8 week long waiting lists, says Laptop Mag.

Who's going to wait that long for a phone repair?

The solution, obviously, is to switch to Android. Failing that, the right to repair bill should ease some of your Apple-induced pain.

Having passed into law in the UK, and some of Europe, the right to repair is now gaining traction across the US. Many states are looking to broaden their stance regarding everyday tech repairs, including Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, and Oregon, among others.

Steve Wozniak made his views on the matter quite clear in his reply to right to repair campaigner Louis Rossmann on Cameo, in which he urges the industry to meet with a more open tech future. "We wouldn’t have had an Apple had I not grown up in a very open technology world," Wozniak notes. "It’s time to recognise the right to repair more fully. It’s time to start doing the right things!"

Wozniak no longer has much sway within Apple, despite still being on the payroll but, with his backing, as well as that of the Biden Administration, we may be a step closer to a more open source future for tech.

Katie Wickens
Hardware Writer

Screw sports, Katie would rather watch Intel, AMD and Nvidia go at it. Having been obsessed with computers and graphics for three long decades, she took Game Art and Design up to Masters level at uni, and has been rambling about games, tech and science—rather sarcastically—for four years since. She can be found admiring technological advancements, scrambling for scintillating Raspberry Pi projects, preaching cybersecurity awareness, sighing over semiconductors, and gawping at the latest GPU upgrades. Right now she's waiting patiently for her chance to upload her consciousness into the cloud.

Read more
Logitech repairs
Logitech and iFixit team up in repairability collab to make your mice, keyboards and headphones last longer
Intel modular laptop
Intel's modular designs could make your next laptop last longer, but probably won't deliver the holy grail of cheap GPU upgrades
Bill Gates speaks onstage for a special conversation during "What’s Next? The Future With Bill Gates"at The Paris Theater on September 26, 2024 in New York City.
Bill Gates laments Pat Gelsinger's failure to save Intel: 'I was hoping for his sake, for the country's sake that he would be successful'
Semiconductor worker holding a wafer chip.
President Trump wants to kill the $52 billion CHIPS Act: 'a horrible, horrible thing'
 photo shows a factory tool that places lids on data center system-on-chips at an Intel fab in Chandler, Arizona, in December 2023. In February 2024, Intel Corporation launched Intel Foundry as the world’s first systems foundry for the AI era, delivering leadership in technology, resiliency and sustainability.
'This is not unlocking shareholder value, it's a fire sale': Jim Keller weighs in on a possible 'careless' Intel chip and fab spin-off
Nvidia headquarters
Nvidia denounces Biden administration's 'rigged' and 'misguided' new AI chip export restrictions
Latest in Hardware
MSI RTX 5070 Ti Gaming Trio OC Plus graphics card under a red light
This MSI Afterburner file unlocks 36 Gbps RTX 50-series memory overclocks for, y'know, the few people that actually own a card
A Steam Deck with SteamOS running in desktop mode.
A new and improved desktop experience just landed on Steam Deck and SteamOS is readying 'support for non-Steam Deck handhelds'
The Cherry Xtrfy K4V2 TKL gaming keyboard on top of a mouse pad depicting a nebula. The keyboard is grey with red accent keys, a grey braided wire, and the bright RGB lights switched on.
Cherry Xtrfy K4V2 TKL review
A "sensor-actuator–coupled gustatory interface chemically connecting virtual and real environments for remote tasting," or essentially a virtual reality tongue in an artificial mouth
Would you like to taste fish soup in VR? Me neither, but this electronic tongue does it anyway
Razer DeathAdder V3 Pro gaming mouse on a blue background
The DeathAdder V3 Pro is currently so cheap it's put the usually more affordable HyperSpeed version out of a job
MSI RTX 5090 Suprim SOC graphics card on a grey background with a gradient
MSI RTX 5090 Suprim SOC review
Latest in News
Metro Exodus
'I want to raise this glass to our fans, to our community': 4A Games celebrates Metro 2033's 15th anniversary and hints at next Metro game
Assassin's Creed Shadows promo image
Ubisoft reportedly has an anti-harassment plan in place for Assassin's Creed Shadows developers
Avowed Kai holding out his hand toward camera while explaining something to the player.
Avowed's new patch just gave you 6 more talent points to muck around with, along with a heap of fixes and improvements
In-game recreation of iconic Indiana Jones stealing the idol in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Silent Hill 2 remake and Indiana Jones are at historically low prices this Steam Spring Sale—so long as you don't buy them directly from Steam
MSI RTX 5070 Ti Gaming Trio OC Plus graphics card under a red light
This MSI Afterburner file unlocks 36 Gbps RTX 50-series memory overclocks for, y'know, the few people that actually own a card
A Steam Deck with SteamOS running in desktop mode.
A new and improved desktop experience just landed on Steam Deck and SteamOS is readying 'support for non-Steam Deck handhelds'