Safety, Security Worries Are What Drive Most Tech Firms to Bar Device Self-Repair, Says ITI
Safety and security concerns are what drive the vast majority of Information Technology Industry Council member companies to limit device repairs to “authorized/qualified” service technicians, and not third-party repair outfits or do-it-yourselfers, said a September survey the trade group submitted…
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to the FTC’s “Nixing the Fix” inquiry. The filing, posted Tuesday in docket FTC-2019-0013, was submitted at the agency’s April 30 deadline for "empirical research" to help staff prepare for a July 16 workshop on whether manufacturer repair restrictions can thwart the consumer protections in the 1975 Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (see 1903130060). All the survey respondents “indicated intellectual property and/or proprietary information would be at risk in using an unauthorized/untrained repair provider,” said ITI. All also cited the “risk to user safety in using an unauthorized/untrained repair provider,” while 83 percent identified the “risk to data security” as their rationale for barring third-party or self-repair, it said. Three-quarters of the members responding “require authorized/qualified providers to protect privacy and data through contractual requirements and OEM practices/procedures,” it said. ITI didn’t comment Wednesday on how many members participated in the survey or why it predated the initiation of the Nixing the Fix inquiry by about six months. The 22 filings posted this week in docket FTC-2019-0013 were virtually all the agency received by its April 30 deadline for submissions of empirical research into manufacturer repair restrictions, emailed spokesperson Juliana Gruenwald Wednesday. Though the deadline for research submissions has lapsed, the FTC said it will accept written comments in the proceeding through Sept. 16.