Industry Members React to White House Position on Right to Repair

President Biden recently issued an extensive Executive Order that could have a considerable impact on the independent automotive industry’s ongoing efforts to promote Right to Repair.

In his “Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy,” the President urges the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to address and remove restrictions imposed by manufacturers against independent entities that seek access to those manufacturers’ repair information and procedures. Although the Executive Order does not specifically identify the independent automotive repair and service industries, provisions found in the document could be interpreted to apply to these fields as well.

In a special Executive Order Fact Sheet, the White House noted that the President “encourages the FTC to issue rules against anticompetitive restrictions on using independent repair shops or doing DIY repairs of your own devices and equipment.” Further, the Executive Order targets “unfair data collection and surveillance practices that may damage competition, consumer autonomy and consumer privacy” and “unfair anticompetitive restrictions on thirdparty repair or self-repair of items, such as the restrictions imposed by powerful manufacturers that prevent farmers from repairing their own equipment.”

Not surprisingly, the Executive Order immediately prompted enthusiastic reactions from long-standing advocates for Right to Repair in Massachusetts.

“We applaud the President’s motion to address a consumer’s right to choose where they get their devices repaired,” offered Tommy Hickey, director of the Massachusetts Right to Repair Coalition, in a statement to New England Automotive Report. “We

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