from the good-intentions,-hot-messes dept
A little over a year ago, Maine residents voted overwhelmingly (83 percent) to pass a new state right to repair law designed to make auto repairs easier and more affordable. More specifically, the law requires that automakers standardize on-board diagnostic systems and provide remote access to those systems and mechanical data to consumers and third-party independent repair shops.
But as we’ve seen with other states that have passed right to reform laws (most notably New York), passing the law isn’t the end of the story. Corporate lobbyists have had great success not just watering these laws down before passage, but after voters approve them. They’ve also been swarmed by coordinated industry lawsuits and falsehood-spewing attacks.
Maine’s popular right to repair law just took effect after a year of hashing out the fine details, but the bill’s still being changed as the state tries to sort out enforcement. Large automakers have been looming over that process to try and weaken the law. But the Alliance For Automotive Innovation also just filed a new lawsuit saying the law isn’t fully cooked and therefore violates the law:
“This is an example of putting the cart before the horse. Before automakers can comply, the law requires the attorney general to first establish an ‘independent entity’ to securely administer access to vehicle data. The independent entity hasn’t been established. That’s not in dispute. Compliance with the law right now is not possible.”
The group is correct that Maine’s right to repair law isn’t fully cooked yet. What they don’t say is they’re one of the reasons the law isn’t fully cooked. Or that they oppose the popular law either way.
The group’s statement makes some false claims that the law wasn’t necessary because the freedom to repair your own vehicle already exists. That’s simply not true, and it’s important to remind folks that the auto industry has some of the worst privacy and security ratings of any tech-based industry. Automakers also routinely falsely claim that right to repair laws are a threat to consumer privacy and security.
Maine’s original and vague law requires manufacturers to give car owners, independent repair shops, and licensed dealers transparent access to vehicle data for repair and diagnostic purposes. It also demanded the creation of a Maine Automotive Right to Repair Working Group to determine the contours of the law and help build an independent entity to govern vehicle data transmitted to independent repair shops.
That process has been a mess, in part, because the original law was vague. But also because auto lobbyists have been applying constant pressure to weaken the law. And because crafting a useful law, with functional privacy measures, that automakers can’t just tap dance around, simply isn’t easy. So yes, the law is unfinished. It’s also not being actually enforced.
Once Maine’s law is finally fully cooked, assuming it has any actual teeth left by that point, consistent enforcement becomes another issue. In all of the states where new right to repair laws have been passed, most corporations are simply ignoring the laws. I’m not sure I’ve seen a single enforcement action yet in any of the eleven states that have passed various right to repair protections.
Now, with Trumpism’s assault on… everything throwing state courts into absolute chaos on subjects ranging from immigration to public safety, I suspect enforcement of extremely popular right to repair laws won’t be at the top of the priority list for cash-strapped states.
Filed Under: affordable repair, automakers, cars, independent repair shops, privacy, right to repair, security
