Apple has sent delegates including representative Steve Kester to officially oppose the passage of a so-called “right to repair” bill in Nebraska that would require the company to provide consumers and third-party repair shops access to service manuals and parts. State Sen. Lydia Brasch, sponsor of Nebraska’s Adopt the Fair Repair Act, said he spoke to her about similar “right to repair” legislation in a recent meeting, reports BuzzFeed News.
On Thursday afternoon, legislators in Nebraska considered a “right to repair” proposal, which was designed to open up the state’s repair market for electronic equipment. The legislation would enshrine the “Right to Repair” electronics, which means manufacturers such as Apple will have to sell replacement parts to independent repair shops and consumers and will also have to make their diagnostic and service manuals public. Nebraska is one of eight states that are considering right to repair bills; last month, Nebraska, Minnesota, New York, Massachusetts, Kansas, and Wyoming introduced legislation. Last week, lawmakers in Illinois and Tennessee officially introduced similar bills.
Apple has never authorized an independent company to repair iPhones, though it has for Macs. Still, hundreds of companies do repair iPhones, but many of them have to salvage parts from recycled devices or get them on the Chinese grey market.
