National Post (National Edition)
MP's bill fights for consumers' right to repair
From toaster to thermostat, `smart' devices
A private member's bill introduced this week in the House of Commons is the first step toward establishing a “right-to-repair” in Canada, the Liberal MP who tabled the bill says.
A movement calling for consumers to be able to repair the devices they own has grown in recent years, because there's an increasing number of items — from smartphones to farm equipment — that manufacturers are making it difficult or impossible for customers to fix on their own. The result is that customers are forced to pay those same manufacturers for repairs, or to replace the item.
“The challenge is only going to get more and more significant. Right now we have things like smart TVs, and obviously cellphones, computer devices where this is a problem,” Bryan May, the MP who introduced the bill, said in a phone interview.
“Everything that we own, everything from a toaster to our thermostat, is going to not be a `dumb device,' but a smart device, and will all of a sudden, be covered under the Copyright Act.”
If the car industry was covered by the same rules, there would be no aftermarket parts or independent mechanics, he noted. “I think that's really what we're looking at, is trying to get that same flexibility for the consumer, that they have with their car,” May said.
May's bill would update the Copyright Act to prohibit the use of so-called technological protection measures, or digital locks, to block repairs of devices. He gave the example of manufacturers who immobilize devices like tractors or games consoles to force owners to use licensed technicians.
Allen Mendelsohn, a sessional lecturer at McGill University's law faculty who specializes in internet and tech law, said the bill takes a “minimalist” approach, removing copyright liability for those who attempt to tinker with their devices or repair them. “It's not a true right-to-repair,” he said.
May agreed his bill doesn't provide for a complete rightto-repair, but said it's instead the federal piece that's needed to enable the provinces, whose purview includes consumer protection, to put their own right-to-repair laws in place. If the federal Copyright Act isn't changed, it's difficult for provinces to require manufacturers to provide manuals and spare parts for devices, he said. In Ontario, a private member's right-to-repair bill failed in 2019.
May said one of the reasons he was motivated to introduce the bill is environmental, to help keep items out of landfills. He added that the pandemic has also resulted in “countless examples” of people not being able to repair their own medical devices while in lockdown.
May introduced Bill C-272 in the House of Commons on Monday, and said he believes it will have the support of the other parties.
But since the anti-circumvention legislation was put in place nearly a decade ago — making Canada the country with the most restrictive set of laws on digital locks anywhere in the world — the federal government has always had the regulatory power to address it, said Michael Geist, a law professor and Canada Research Chair in internet and e-commerce law at the University of Ottawa.
He said in an interview the right-to-repair has “repeatedly come up before committees and been raised by members of Parliament. And yet, successive industry and heritage ministers have done nothing.”
Geist said it's an issue that should be non-partisan, is relevant across the country, and “picks up on constituencies that aren't usually interested as much in copyright. The agriculture community usually doesn't usually think of copyright is one of their issues, but it is so long as they can't fix their farm equipment. So, I would expect to see some real support for it.”
Companies that often come up in discussions about the right-to-repair include farm and construction equipment manufacturer John Deere, whose equipment is now software-based. In some cases, farmers lose hours or days of work while their machine is immobilized and they must wait for an authorized technician.
Another is Apple, which uses custom screws that require specialized screwdrivers to open its devices. Mendelsohn noted though it has begun to allow some authorized retailers to do repairs, Apple generally requires customers to go to its stores for repairs.
Consumers pay over $1,000 for a new iPhone, Mendelsohn said. “They should be able to get that iPhone repaired, wherever they want, (and) not have to be beholden to Apple.”