Massachusetts passes ‘right to repair’ law to open up car data
Massachusetts voters approved a measure requiring car manufacturers to let people access vehicle data for repairs. Question 1 amends a landmark 2012 “right to repair” law in the state. After it’s adopted, manufacturers will have until car model year 2022 to install a standard open data platform. The platform will let vehicle owners and independent mechanics access telematics, wirelessly transmitted data that is typically sent directly to a remote server.
Right to repair advocates hailed the measure — which passed with 75 percent approval — as a victory. “Tuesday’s victory shows that people overwhelmingly support fair repair,” wrote iFixit’s Kevin Purdy. “And they want people they trust to fix the things they own.” As cars become...