Automakers Look To Neuter Maine ‘Right To Repair’ Bill Under The Pretense Of Privacy Concerns

Policy

from the this-is-why-we-can't-have-nice-things dept
Wed, Jan 31st 2024 01:42pm - Karl Bode

Last November, Maine residents voted overwhelmingly (83 percent) to pass a new state right to repair law designed to make auto repairs easier and more affordable. More specifically, the law requires that automakers standardize on-board diagnostic systems and provide remote access to those systems and mechanical data to consumers and third-party independent repair shops.

But as we’ve seen with other states that have passed right to reform laws (most notably New York), passing the law isn’t the end of the story. Corporate lobbyists have had great success not just watering these laws down before passage, but after voters approve them.

In Maine, lawmakers have been trying to convince Republican and Democratic lawmakers alike to introduce new amendments modifying (read: weakening) Maine’s law. While automakers and some lawmakers insist the point of the changes are to protect consumer privacy, right to repair advocates say the real point is to water the bill down to the point of near-uselessness:

“[This amendment] would allow automakers and their dealers in Maine to create a monopoly on automotive repairs by severely restricting access to mechanical information and data needed by independent repair shops to fix the cars of their customers,” the coalition said in a statement.”

The original law mandates the creation of a new portal that car owners and independent mechanics can access to reset car security systems. Automakers must also create a “motor vehicle telematics system notice” system informing new car owners how access will work. The bill also mandates that the AG create an oversight board to ensure automakers are complying with data share requests.

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