Consumer Reports applauds new law that will extend rights to nearly 8 million Washingtonians
Olympia, WA — Washington Governor Bob Ferguson today signed a digital right to repair bill (House Bill 1483) into law. The new law is designed to make it easier and less expensive for consumers to fix their broken devices, while reducing electronic waste that winds up in landfills. Washington is now the sixth state with a digital right to repair law following Colorado, Oregon, New York, Minnesota, and California.
Under the Washington law, manufacturers of consumer electronics and household appliances must provide the repair tools and information required to diagnose, maintain, and fix their products. It will extend the right to repair phones, tablets, and other digital devices to nearly 8 million people. These consumers will be able to take their broken devices to the independent repair shop of their choice, or fix them themselves, instead of being locked into the manufacturer’s repair service.
Justin Brookman, director of tech policy at Consumer Reports, said, “We applaud the Washington legislature and Governor for standing up for consumers. Right to repair laws save people money and give them more choices when fixing their costly gadgets and appliances. With Washington becoming the sixth state to pass a right to repair law, nearly 80 million Americans across these states now have a legal right to fix the products they own.”
CR is especially encouraged to see Washington join Oregon and Colorado in becoming the third state to include provisions against parts pairing, which refers to a manufacturer’s practice of using software to identify component parts through a unique identifier. Manufacturers can use parts pairing to prevent access to repair or confuse the consumer about a third-party repair’s efficacy. As consumers increasingly purchase products with a software component and those products are connected to the internet, the lack of clarity around repair rules can mean that these devices exist in a gray area where even after a consumer purchases a product, the manufacturer retains control and ownership of it.
Consumer Reports has also incorporated the right to repair into its Digital Standard, a set of best practices that CR uses to evaluate the privacy and security of software, digital platforms and services, and internet-connected products, as well as to help influence the design of these products. CR has also drafted model legislation, which helped in the creation of this law and others.
Contact: cyrus.rassool@consumer.org