The right-to-repair movement is growing as wins stack up

Peter Mui, founder of Fixit Clinic, describes his repair work as a hobby that’s gotten out of control. What started as a tool share in Berkeley, California, has turned into a volunteer-run group that has organized more than 1,300 repair events around the country. At Fixit Clinics, people can bring any broken household item — from worn socks to broken toasters — and learn how to make them functional again.

“During the last few years, interest in repair has exploded,” Mui said.

He attributes this cultural shift to a growing awareness about the environmental impact of e-waste, as well as a raft of “right-to-repair” laws passing across the U.S. Historically, manufacturers of computers, cars and tractors have cited copyright law to claim exclusive repair rights, allowing them to sue independent repair companies while preventing consumers from finding lower-cost alternatives.

But in six states — California, Colorado, Minnesota, Maine, New York and Oregon — right-to-repair laws have been passed to protect consumers’ ability to repair or modify their products instead of having to go through the manufacturer. Oregon’s law is the most recent, passing in 2024 and going into effect in January.

As of March, right-to-repair bills had been introduced in all 50 states, and 20 state legislatures are currently debating such bills.

The laws take different forms. Some narrowly target automobile manufacturers while others are broad enough to cover all consumer electronics. Though bipartisan federal legislation for automobile repair stalled last year, it was reintroduced last month. Legal experts say it’s hard to predict the Trump administration’s stance toward right-to-repair laws considering President Donald Trump’s varied relationships with tech executives and the wide array of positions he’s taken on tech issues. But advocates remain hopeful about support among state legislators and constituents for such bills, which have been backed by both Democrats and Republicans.

“Every time there’s been a popular referendum, it’s passed by 70% or more in that state,” Mui said. “So that creates a lot of mainstream awareness around the idea that stuff should be repairable.”

Legislative wins for right to repair

The modern right-to-repair movement began with challenges to copyright law in 2012, when Massachusetts mandated automakers allow independent mechanics to access the diagnostic tools in cars, which were previously restricted to franchised dealerships. In 2014, Congress legalized phone “unlocking,” allowing phone owners to “unlock” their phones from exclusive use on a specific network and take them to a different carrier. The Library of Congress announced exemptions to copyright law for consumers to modify their tablets and smart TVs a year later.

But it wasn’t until 2022 that the right-to-repair battle reached wide public consciousness when consumers questioned why McFlurry machines were always broken at their local McDonald’s. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) made it illegal to bypass certain proprietary systems like the one that Taylor Company, the McFlurry manufacturer, used to fix the equipment.

After a repair startup filed a lawsuit challenging Taylor’s restrictive repair policies, which only allowed its repair people to fix machines, the U.S. Copyright Office announced new exceptions to the copyright law to allow third-party McFlurry repairs. Kit Walsh, a director at the nonprofit rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation, welcomed the change.

“Manufacturers will always try to figure out another means of restricting independent repair because it’s a very lucrative market for them,” Walsh said.

The EFF was part of a coalition that challenged tractor manufacturer John Deere in 2015 over independent repairs and won temporary exemptions to the DMCA. But Walsh wants the federal government to go further.

She said the biggest obstacle to consumer rights is Section 1201 of the DMCA. Enacted in 1998, the section prohibits consumers from accessing protected software in copyrighted products. So far, litigation challenging Section 1201 has been rejected by the courts. What Walsh is betting on are smaller copyright exemptions like those for electric wheelchairs or the state-level push to pass repair bills.

Gay Gordon-Byrne, the executive director of the Right to Repair Coalition, said the group has faced massive lobbying by industrial conglomerates for much of its 15 years of campaigning. At one point, she said, companies like Apple and General Motors that were fighting against right-to-repair legislation represented over $10 trillion in market capitalization.

Since then, some manufacturers including Motorola and Microsoft have started working with repair advocates. “They don’t have a choice, because consumers are starting to ask questions,” Gordon-Byrne said. “Every bill that gets passed adds more positive incentive for manufacturers to go back to what they used to do, which is support their customers.”

To empower consumers, the coalition runs a know-your-rights program where people can check what laws are enforced in their state. If the manufacturer of a product is not in compliance with the law, consumers can fill out a form that sends a direct complaint to the state attorney general’s office.

“Everyone’s frustration with not being able to fix their stuff has grown,” Gordon-Byrne said. “Even when I sit down with legislators, they hold up their cellphone and ask if right-to-repair will make it cheaper to repair their screen. And they say, ‘Sign me up.’”

Building a repair skill-sharing economy

Repair Cafe, another extensive repair network, has over 2,500 communities worldwide. Its oldest U.S. chapter, founded in 2012, is Repair Cafe Pasadena, where around 40 volunteers show up every month with sewing machines and toolboxes to fix any item that community members bring in. Its January event was supposed to take place at the usual location, the Altadena Public Library, but the Eaton Fire postponed their meetup.

With many members having lost their homes to the fires, the network has taken on new meaning. “The idea behind Repair Cafe is to build local resiliency,” volunteer Ginko Lee said. “So we’re trying to figure out how to help people during this catastrophe, like repairing their generators.”

The Pasadena arm of the global repair network, which draws attendees from all economic backgrounds, keeps its budget at zero through breakfast donations from a local bakery and a volunteer-run coffee station. Volunteers range from expert knitters to former electrical engineers. During the events, community members ask for the repair of treasured belongings or can shop from the “free market” table. “There’s a lot of conversations going on because people open their hearts to one another during the repairs,” Lee said.

Lee emphasized that the group’s ethos is mutual help, not charity. “It’s a unique place where for three hours people help one another without charging money or asking for anything in return,” Lee said.

That’s also the kind of environment that Mui fosters at Fixit Clinics. Because everyone has a unique skill set, his clinics turn into a skill-sharing and cross-training event. “Our events are set up so that really the role of Fixit coach and participant blurs, and everyone’s just helping everybody else out,” Mui said.