{"version": "1.0", "type": "rich", "title": "The FTC Votes Unanimously to Enforce Right to Repair", "author_name": "kontextmaschine", "author_url": "https://kontextmaschine.com", "provider_name": "kontextmaschine", "provider_url": "https://kontextmaschine.com", "url": "https://kontextmaschine.com/post/660063858307809280/", "html": "The FTC Votes Unanimously to Enforce Right to Repair\n
DURING AN OPEN commission meeting Wednesday, the Federal Trade Commission voted unanimously to enforce laws around the Right to Repair, thereby ensuring that US consumers will be able to repair their own electronic and automotive devices.
The FTC\u2019s endorsement of the rules is not a surprise outcome; the issue of Right to Repair has been a remarkably bipartisan one, and the FTC itself issued a lengthy report in May that blasted manufacturers for restricting repairs. But the 5 to 0 vote signals the commission\u2019s commitment to enforce both federal antitrust laws and a key law around consumer warranties\u2014the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act\u2014when it comes to personal device repairs.
The vote, which was led by new FTC chair and known tech critic Lina Khan, also comes 12 days after President Joe Biden signed a broad executive order aimed at promoting competition in the US economy. The order addressed a wide range of industries, from banks to airlines to tech companies. But a portion of it encouraged the FTC, which operates as an independent agency, to create new rules that would prevent companies from restricting repair options for consumers.
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HOLY
SHIT
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?!?!?!?!?!
Literally every single warranty I have ever read says \u201clol void if u tamper w/ this shit\u201d
And you\u2019re telling me that\u2019s a rule violation the manufacturer can be reported for?!?!
[Image ID: a screenshot of a portion of text from the article linked in the first post that reads \u201cthe FTC is so encouraging the public to report warrant abuse\u2013as defined by the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act of 1975, which prohibits manufacturers from telling consumers that a warranty is voided if the product has been altered or tampered with in someone other than the original manufacturer.\u201d The text from \u201cwhich prohibits\u201d through to the end is underlined with red. End ID]
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Yep! Those \u201cwarranty void if removed\u201d stickers are not legally enforceable in the US. Companies still put them on because unfortunately most people don\u2019t know about this. Best advice I ever heard for if you need to return a product that you\u2019ve removed the stickers from:
Persistently insist that the stickers never were there. Act confused if you\u2019re asked. You got the product like this, sticker-free. The eye of the law doesn\u2019t see the stickers, so you didn\u2019t either.
![](\"/media/c2238b26dda224e4546dc9ff02bbd4c2403c3b79_178bd9c266e9.jpg\")