As a DIYer, I like this. But why does this need legislation? If enough DIYers want this, wouldn’t they vote with their dollars and not buy unrepairable products?
> If enough DIYers want this, wouldn’t they vote with their dollars and not buy unrepairable products?
That's not how the market works.
People mostly buy products on perceived value: price vs performance. Traits that only come into play when something goes wrong -- repairability, warranty, customer service, etc. -- are minor factors in the average consumer purchasing decision because people don't expect things to go wrong. If a given piece of, say, electronics only breaks in a reasonable timeframe 5% of the time, most people aren't going to factor in how easy to fix it is when they decide whether to buy it.
The reality is that most people only factor in a few more obvious variables in their purchasing decision. It's hard to get consumer momentum for less prominent aspects of a product to get manufacturers to change their behavior.
It's the same reason we have basic labor regulations or building/health codes, rather than relying on the market for everything. Consumers are good at applying pressure on companies for some things, sure, but not everything.
The short answer is that investors like the companies in their portfolios to have recurring payments. This leads companies to offer product features as subscription services. This makes them do things to keep you from modifying the device, such as using proprietary parts, employing device serialization, and using the DMCA to sue you when you attempt to modify a device.
There’s an awful lot of collusion behind the scenes. When one company starts a practice that drives revenues, all companies start doing it. Investors demand it. Then you see things like industry wide shifts. Where you can’t get a certain product that existed a few years ago no matter how much you’re willing to spend.
There might a free market, but when consumers are talking pennies and investors are talking dollars, you won’t have a lot of influence on it.
DIYers are such a small group compared to the entire population that they can't significantly affect market with their dollars in many or most cases.
Just look at manual transmissions: far more repairable and DIY friendly than automatic/CVT/robotic transmissions and there are a lot of people who just like to drive them and are not DIYers. Yet these transmissions are almost extinct in new cars in North America.
This isn’t about empowering DIYers. It’s about empowering _everyone_. It’s about allowing you to use the services of a non-affiliated mechanic for repairs. It’s about autonomy, competition, and efficiency.
As to the question of why this requires legislation. Why wouldn’t it? The current market conditions result in an unfavorable outcome.
That's not how the market works.
People mostly buy products on perceived value: price vs performance. Traits that only come into play when something goes wrong -- repairability, warranty, customer service, etc. -- are minor factors in the average consumer purchasing decision because people don't expect things to go wrong. If a given piece of, say, electronics only breaks in a reasonable timeframe 5% of the time, most people aren't going to factor in how easy to fix it is when they decide whether to buy it.
The reality is that most people only factor in a few more obvious variables in their purchasing decision. It's hard to get consumer momentum for less prominent aspects of a product to get manufacturers to change their behavior.
It's the same reason we have basic labor regulations or building/health codes, rather than relying on the market for everything. Consumers are good at applying pressure on companies for some things, sure, but not everything.