Like a growing number of states, the FTC under Lina Khan continues to show it’s somewhat serious about protecting consumers’ rights to repair their own tech. In 2021 the agency issued a useful report busting a lot of lobbying myths about repairability, and over the last few years has been cracking down on companies that claim that using third-party parts or repair shops violates warranty coverage.
In 2022 the agency took action against Harley Davidson for saying the use of third-party repair parts and facilities violated motorcycle warranties. They took similar action against Weber Grills and Westinghouse. Such practices run afoul of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (MMWA) enforced by the FTC.
Now the agency has sent warning letters to eight additional companies. In a new letter, the agency warned four air purifier sellers (aeris Health, Blueair, Medify Air, and Oransi), treadmill maker InMovement, and gaming hardware companies ASRock, Zotac, and Gigabyte that they can’t tell consumers that using third-party parts and repair shops violate product warranties.
“These warning letters put companies on notice that restricting consumers’ right to repair violates the law,” said Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “The Commission will continue our efforts to protect consumers’ right to repair and independent dealers’ right to compete.”
Countless companies across countless sectors work tirelessly to monopolize repair of their own products. Usually this involves claims that using third-party dealerships, repair centers, tools and parts will inherently result in safety issues for consumers (something the FTC’s 2021 study thoroughly debunked). Sometimes it even involves (falsely) claiming right to repair is a boon to scary hackers or sexual predators.
The FTC warned all eight companies to review their box stickers and promotional/warranty materials to ensure they don’t imply that warranty coverage is conditioned on the use of specific parts or services. The agency says it will monitor the companies and circle around with legal action if their demands aren’t met.
The federal government caring about consumer repairability remains a relatively new phenomenon, and comes as Oregon recently became the seventh state to pass state level right to repair restrictions. Outside of the FTC, actual enforcement has so far been scattershot at best.
