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APPLE’S SURPRISING ABOUT-FACE ON 'RIGHT TO REPAIR'

Analysis by Cristiano Lima

with research by David DiMolfetta

August 24, 2023 at 8:57 a.m. EDT

A newsletter briefing on the intersection of technology and politics.

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Happy Thursday! I am shocked, shocked I tell you, that yet another presidential
debate ignored antitrust, privacy, online safety and other big-ticket issues for
The Technology 202 reader bloc. Send notes of outrage (and news tips) to:
cristiano.lima@washpost.com.


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A quick programming note: The newsletter will be off next week and return after
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Below: The FCC considers denying a Fox station a renewed broadcast license, and
large platforms face new E.U. rules starting Friday. First:

APPLE’S SURPRISING ABOUT-FACE ON 'RIGHT TO REPAIR'


The Right to Repair Act would require companies to provide users and third-party
repair services the necessary tools to diagnose and repair their electronic
devices and appliances. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

After years of aggressively lobbying against “right to repair” legislation,
iPhone maker Apple this week endorsed a measure requiring companies to give
customers the tools to fix their products independently — a landmark reversal
that follows years of mounting pressure from advocates, lawmakers and federal
regulators.

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Apple spokesman Nick Leahy said in a statement Wednesday that the tech giant
“supports California’s Right to Repair Act,” SB 244, “so all Californians have
even greater access to repairs while also protecting their safety, security, and
privacy.”

Proponents of the campaign called it a massive and potentially game-changing
shift by Apple, which has long resisted and lobbied against “right to repair”
legislation. 

California legislators for years have struggled to advance legislation on the
issue amid consistent industry resistance. 

Apple’s reversal, proponents of the effort said, could clinch them legislative
victory in California. 

“Industry support should greatly help the bill's chance of passing, and
hopefully can be an effective template for other states,” said Electronic
Frontier Foundation associate director Hayley Tsukayama, who previously worked
at The Washington Post.

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Nathan Proctor, a senior director at the consumer advocacy group U.S. PIRG,
called it a “huge step” that “likely puts the California bill, which already
earned extensive support, over the top.”

“It is also a very significant show of force for the broader Right to Repair
movement, which has been going head to head with Apple for a decade,” Proctor
said in an email.

Gay Gordon-Byrne, executive director of the Repair Association, a coalition of
advocacy groups that lobbies in favor of “right to repair” legislation, said the
timing of the endorsement suggests Apple “realizes they won't be able to stop”
the bill from advancing, and so “they are clearly trying to get out in front of
another legislative defeat.”

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In addition to growing threats from state legislators, the Biden administration
has upped the pressure on tech companies to allow their customers to fix their
products. 

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President Biden in July 2021 signed an executive order that urged the Federal
Trade Commission to craft rules “barring unfair methods of competition,”
including when cell phone manufacturers “impose restrictions on self and
third-party repairs.”

The FTC shortly after voted unanimously to ramp up its enforcement against such
restrictions, with Chair Lina Khan saying at the time that those limits “can
significantly raise costs for consumers, stifle innovation, close off business
opportunity for independent repair shops, create unnecessary electronic waste,
delay timely repairs, and undermine resiliency.”

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Facing the prospect of tougher federal enforcement, tech companies responded,
with both Microsoft and Apple announcing plans to make it easier for customers
to fix their products within a few months, marking another major victory for the
“right to repair” movement. 

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Biden later touted the changes, saying, “What’s happened [is] a lot of these
companies said, ‘You’re right. We’re going to voluntarily do it. You don’t have
to order us to do it.’”

Even so, groups representing Apple have reportedly continued to lobby around
“right to repair” legislation at the state level as officials pushed to enshrine
such protections.

The effort has seemingly notched legislative victories since, leading to the
passage of some state measures that “right to repair” proponents saw as weak.

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Proctor said that while “Apple was able to negotiate changes to the bill” in
California, he believes the proposal “remains strong.”

OUR TOP TABS

FCC ASKS FOR PUBLIC COMMENT ON RENEWING FOX TV LICENSE



The Federal Communications Commission requested public comment on whether the
agency should renew Fox’s Philadelphia TV station license after a grass-roots
organization argued that it should be revoked because Fox knowingly broadcast
false information about the 2020 election, Bloomberg News’s Todd Shields
reports.

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Shields writes: “The Media and Democracy Project, a nonprofit group that calls
itself non-partisan, in July urged the FCC to deny renewal for WTXF-TV. The next
Fox station to seek license renewal won’t do so until 2028, according to Fox.”

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The FCC in a notice said public input on the matter would “serve the public
interest,” the report adds.

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The nonprofit argues that WTXF and Fox willingly distorted news about the 2020
presidential election, having relied partly on findings from Dominion Voting
Systems, which filed a defamation lawsuit with Fox that alleged the network
falsely claimed the company deliberately rigged its voting machines. 

E.U.’S BRETON WANTS BIG TECH TO VIEW NEW LAW AS WAY TO RESTORE TRUST



E.U. industry chief Thierry Breton said a sweeping law that large digital
services will be subject to beginning Friday should be used as a way for tech
giants to restore trust and safety on their platforms, Foo Yun Chee reports for
Reuters. 

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The Digital Services Act directs qualifying entities to run annual risk
assessments about illegal content on their sites, submit to independent audits
and provide researchers with data about how their platforms operate. Violators
can face fees of up to 6% of their global revenue. 

“Complying with the DSA is not a punishment — it is an opportunity for these
online platforms to reinforce their brand value and reputation as a trustworthy
site,” Breton said. He later added: “My services and I will thoroughly enforce
the DSA, and fully use our new powers to investigate and sanction platforms
where warranted.”

“These very large online platforms and very large online search engines have
until Friday to provide their first annual risk assessment to the European
Commission,” Yun Chee writes.

FACEBOOK AND TWITTER PULLING BACK FROM NEWS AMID NATURAL DISASTERS



Facebook and Twitter, platforms that have historically made themselves essential
news providers to their users in times of crisis, have recently become less
invested in prioritizing news delivery. The consequences are being felt by
victims of natural disasters in California and Canada, our colleague Will Oremus
reports.   

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With wildfires raging in western Canada and a tropical storm having flooded
parts of Southern California, the companies are missing in action, Will writes.
Meta ended news in Canada this month over disagreements with a law requiring it
to pay news publishers for distributing their content, and users who turn to X,
formerly known as Twitter, for real-time updates are struggling to discern
between fact and fiction after owner Elon Musk rejiggered the site’s
verification policies.

“Just a few years ago, Twitter was a really valuable way for us to communicate
with the public,” said Brian Ferguson, deputy director of crisis communications
for California’s Office of Emergency Services. “It’s much more challenging now
because of some of the changes that have happened.”

INSIDE THE INDUSTRY

Experts warn of ‘contradictions’ in Biden administration's top AI policy
documents (FedScoop)

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Germany plans to double AI funding in race with China, U.S. (Reuters)

Big Tech’s to-do list under new E.U. content rules (Politico)

'Nutrition labels' aim to boost trust in AI (Axios)

WORKFORCE REPORT

Kenyan court orders mediation in Meta labour dispute (Reuters)

Amazon is seeing some employees quit instead of moving to a new state as part of
relocation mandate (CNBC)

TRENDING

Nvidia stock surges to highest ever as AI boom rolls on (Gerrit De Vynck)

DAYBOOK

 * Stability AI CEO Emad Mostaque speaks with Axios at 1 p.m.
 * The Cato Institute holds a discussion on how E.U. and U.K. tech policy
   affects American companies at 2 p.m.

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