The ‘Right to Repair’ movement is making significant progress across the US. Much of this advancement has been spearheaded by state-level legislation in Colorado.
Since 2022, Colorado has enacted various laws, equipping consumers with the necessary tools, guidance, and legal authority to mend or enhance their personal wheelchairs, farm machinery, and electronic gadgets. Analogous initiatives have proliferated throughout the nation, with repair-focused legislation being introduced in every US state and successfully passed in eight.
“Colorado possesses the most extensive repair entitlements nationwide,” states Danny Katz, chief executive of the CoPIRG Foundation, which is the Colorado division of the consumer advocacy organization Pirg. “We ought to take pride in pioneering this path.”
Producers are typically less keen on endorsing right-to-repair initiatives, since companies stand to gain greater profits by levying fees for specialized tools, substitute components, and mending operations, compared to simply allowing individuals to perform repairs independently. Certain enterprises have reluctantly consented to render their merchandise more amenable to repair. Others, however, have commenced vigorously opposing recent legislation designed to facilitate this.
During a session held today by the Colorado Senate Business, Labor, and Technology committee, legislators cast a unanimous vote to advance Colorado’s governmental proposal SB26-090—designated as ‘Exempt Critical Infrastructure from Right to Repair’—from the committee stage directly to both the state senate and house for ratification.
This proposed law amends Colorado’s statute concerning Consumer Right to Repair Digital Electronic Equipment, enacted in 2024 and becoming operative in January 2026. Although the safeguards established by that statute are extensive, the fresh SB26-090 proposal seeks to, “exclude information technology equipment that is designed for deployment within vital infrastructure from Colorado’s consumer repair legislation.”
The legislation receives endorsement from technology producers such as Cisco and IBM, as revealed by lobbying records. These enterprises hold significant stakes in producing items like network routers, server hardware, and personal computers, and anticipate financial gain if they can regulate who performs maintenance on their merchandise, along with the instruments, parts, and programs employed for enhancements and rectifications. Furthermore, they raise apprehensions regarding digital security, asserting that providing individuals with entry to the utilities and frameworks required for device mending might also empower malicious entities to exploit such approaches for wicked purposes. (This rationale is frequently put forth by manufacturers when resisting right-to-repair statutes.)
“IBM advocates for right-to-repair stipulations that empower end-users, simultaneously safeguarding digital security, proprietary information, and vital infrastructure,” penned an IBM spokesperson in an email communication to WIRED. “Considering the crucial and frequently delicate character of corporate-grade merchandise, any proposed law ought to be explicitly confined to personal-use gadgets.”
Cisco failed to reply to WIRED’s inquiry for a statement, however, during the proceeding, a Cisco delegate articulated, “Cisco endorses SB-90. While acknowledging the points put forth championing the right to repair, it is true that not all digital tech instruments are equivalent.”
At the session, over twelve proponents of repair voiced their opinions, representing groups such as Pirg, the Repair Association, and iFixit, all of whom challenged the proposed legislation. The prominent YouTuber and repair proponent, Louis Rossmann, was also present. The primary issue, as highlighted by repair proponents, is the bill’s intentional reliance on ambiguous terminology to justify restricting who is permitted to service their merchandise.
“The framing around ‘information technology’ and ‘critical infrastructure’ is utterly cynical,” remarks Nathan Proctor, who spearheads Pirg’s American right to repair initiative. “While it may alarm legislators, its practical implication is simply the internet.”
Despite lacking explicit definition within the proposed law, “information technology” generally refers to equipment such as servers and network routers. The phrase “Critical infrastructure” originates from a federal statute enacted in 2001, which delineates the term as, “systems and resources, tangible or intangible, of such paramount importance to the United States that their disablement or obliteration would profoundly harm national security, economic stability, public welfare, or any confluence of these aspects.”
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