The fight for our right to repair the stuff we own has suffered a huge setback.
As anyone who repairs electronics knows, keeping a device in working order often means fixing both its hardware and software. But a big California farmers’ lobbying group just blithely signed away farmers’ right to access or modify the source code of any farm equipment software. As an organization representing 2.5 million California agriculture jobs, the California Farm Bureau gave up the right to purchase repair parts without going through a dealer. Farmers can’t change engine settings, can’t retrofit old equipment with new features, and can’t modify their tractors to meet new environmental standards on their own. Worse, the lobbyists are calling it a victory.
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While it isn't exactly wrong that individuals should be allowed to repair and modify their own equipment, I do think we need to consider that these are trucks the size of houses. What are the ethical implications of a farmer that performs his or her own repair and then loads half a dozen minimum wage farm workers on the truck. Is the farmer a licensed engineer? Not likely. Who is legally and financially responsible for the lives of the workers? What about when the equipment is driven on a public road with other vehicles? Could there be an accident there?
Just from an engineering perspective, if there is an accident, whose responsible for the postmortem analysis of the truck to determine the cause of the accident? The farmer likely doesn't have the facilities, should John Deere pay to analyze each accident caused by a non-engineer that modifies their equipment?
In general I support peoples' right to hack their own property, but I also recognize that some types of property carries with it issues associate with public safety. This is why we have rules regarding who is allowed to repair items such as bridges, airplanes, semi-trailer truck, etc.
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That is a very fair point. I admit to jumping the gun a bit, here in the comments -- being an open source software enthusiast first and an engineering neophyte second. A perspective from a qualified engineer is much appreciated.
And yet -- there needs to be balance in both safety requirements and access to repairs and customization, systems preventing right to repair are already being used to lock-in customers into monopolies.
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That's absolutely right, that a balance needs to be maintained.
If this were last year, I would have agreed with you that openness is more important than safety; however, just this month I taught a two hour lecture on engineering ethics and I now have a much better appreciate for why not everything is open. As engineers we're ethically bound to hold the safety and welfare of the public as our top priority, which sometimes will conflict with our other values, such as openness.
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Here I thought attacking right to repair was mostly Apple's prerogative! And I've only became aware of that problem thanks to Louis Rossmann...
How's this good for "Protecting American Farmers" exactly, Gov?
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It's good for protecting John Deer's profit margin, the Dealers, political hacks and lobbyists.
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As a farmer this seems to me an abuse, I own my equipment, I should be allowed to repair them or make improvements, again the big corporations managing our lives, what a bad thing.
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Not sure if this would be so much hell for farmers
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