FTC to Weigh ‘Next Steps’ in ‘Nixing the Fix’ Repair Inquiry After Tuesday’s Workshop
The FTC “will determine next steps” in its inquiry into manufacturer restrictions on third-party consumer product repairs after its ‘Nixing the Fix’ workshop, emailed a spokesperson. The commission is billing Tuesday’s workshop as a chance to examine whether third-party repair limitations can undercut the consumer protections in the 1975 Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (MMWA). The agency has been silent about punitive actions it might take or rules it could propose to thwart practices it deems possible violations of the statute.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
“An FTC workshop intentioned to expose repair restrictions is a major concern” for member companies of the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, commented the group, as posted last month in the commission’s Nixing the Fix docket. The workshop agenda is heavily stacked with right-to-repair advocates (see 1907100026), who see the event as a long-overdue opportunity to air their grievances about alleged manufacturer abuses on a national stage.
What these advocates hope and expect will come out of the FTC post-workshop are questions “we have asked ourselves,” emailed Gay Gordon-Byrne, executive director of the Repair Association. She’s scheduled for a panel with PRBA-The Rechargeable Battery Association on the arguments for and against repair restrictions. PRBA recently urged the FTC to carefully consider safety issues “as it explores repair options associated with lithium ion batteries and the devices they power” (see 1906250001). Its members include Apple, Duracell, Energizer, LG Chem, Microsoft, Motorola, Panasonic, Samsung and Sony.
The FTC “does appear very interested in what they can do to help consumers restore their right to repair,” Gordon-Byrne told us. “Not sure if they will, but it’s a very positive step to start with raising essential questions -- such as are consumers being harmed? how is repair being blocked? what are the consequences of monopolized repair and so on.”
Gordon-Byrne hopes the FTC uses its consumer protection and antitrust authority “to investigate and potentially take action against manufacturers that block repair,” or engage in “unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts and practices.” She recently did a study of end user license agreements (EULA), and found widespread abuse of “existing legal rights” granted to consumers under MMWA, she said.
Most EULAs “aren't available to read pre-purchase, and none are negotiable,” said Gordon-Byrne. “Nearly all no longer require the ‘click here to accept’ but are considered agreed if you just turn on the machine. I think the FTC could do a lot to prevent the harm done by such unfair and deceptive practices.”