https://www.techdirt.com/2023/07/27/__trashed-4/ [ ] Techdirt. [ ] * Sign In * Register * Preferences Techdirt [ ] * TechDirt * GreenHouse * Free Speech * Deals * Jobs * Support Techdirt [podcast-ti] Federal Judge Says State Troopers' 'Kansas Two Step' Bullshit Violates The Rights Of Drivers Congress Pretends It's Fixed All The Problems With KOSA; It Hasn't Automakers Try To Bullshit Their Way Past 'Right To Repair' Standoff In Massachusetts [uses-of-te] (Mis)Uses of Technology from the fix-your-own-shit dept Thu, Jul 27th 2023 05:26am - Karl Bode Giant automakers continue to try and scuttle a popular Massachusetts law aimed at making repairing your own cars easier and more affordable. And they're once again using some familiar, misleading tactics to do it. In late 2020, Massachusetts lawmakers (with overwhelming public support) passed an expansion of the state's "right to repair" law, requiring that all new vehicles be accessible via a standardized, transparent platform that allows owners and third-party repair shops to access vehicle data via a mobile device. The goal: reduce repair monopolies, and make it cheaper and easier to get your vehicle repaired (with the added bonus of less environmental waste). Automakers immediately got to work trying to scare the press, public, and legislators away from the improvements by running ads claiming the law would be a boon to sexual predators. They also filed suit under the banner of the inaccurately named Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which stalled the bill from taking effect. Making matters worse, automakers then got some help last June by The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which took some time off from not holding Tesla accountable for the growing pile of corpses caused by undercooked and clearly misrepresented self-driving tech, to support the auto-industry's effort to scuttle the law (and spread misleading claims the law would cause public harm). As corporations looking to secure repair monopolies often do (see: John Deere's repeated empty promises on making tractor repair more affordable), automakers in Massachusetts have also, in recent months, been striking meaningless, voluntary deals with local automotive repair trade groups in a bid to pretend that a state law isn't necessary. But activists are...not impressed: Earlier this month, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, the carmakers trade group, said it had reached an understanding with the Automotive Service Association and the Society of Collision Repair Specialists to resolve the issue. But another major auto repair trade group, the Auto Care Association, has rejected the deal, calling it "a thinly veiled attempt to confuse lawmakers and drivers." Hickey, agreed. "We don't think it means anything," said Hickey, whose group led the campaign to pass the Massachusetts Data Access Law in 2020. "If you read the language, it says we'll only give you telematic information if it's absolutely necessary." Basically, companies see that right to repair legislation is making progress in their state, so they'll strike a completely voluntary agreement with a few associations promising to make it slightly easier to get repair manuals. Of course, the promises routinely wind up not being worth anything, given they're just non-binding voluntary props being used to stall state regulations, not fix a problem they don't want fixed. In this case, the big fight is over access to vehicle telematic systems by independent repair shops, since the very obvious goal is to force car-owners into costly and increasingly consolidated dealership repair shops. This is all buried under claims that opening access to this data will cause a vast parade of privacy and security horribles, which the FTC and others have found to be bullshit. For now, Massachusetts' law is tied up by lobbying and legal fisticuffs. And while there are federal bills on the table, the stuff automakers are doing in Massachusetts to scuttle an extremely popular bill should give you some insight into the work that broad coalitions of companies keen on monopolizing repair are firing up on the federal level. Again, right to repair protections enjoy massive, bipartisan public support. And this kind of regulatory and legislative corruption at the hands of self-serving corporate giants is, as always, why we can't have nice things. Filed Under: automakers, legislation, massachusetts, nhtsa, right to repair, right to repair law 16 CommentsLeave a Comment If you liked this post, you may also be interested in... * A Ton Of Folks Don't Know What 'Right To Repair' Is, But Strongly Support It Once They Do * Massachusetts Prepares To Ban The Collection And Abuse Of Cell Phone Location Data * Illinois Hospital First To Shut Down Completely After Ransomware Attack * NHTSA Has Been Asleep On Self-Driving Fatalities, But Had The Time To Help Automakers Derail MA's Popular 'Right To Repair' Law * Mass. Begins Enforcing New 'Right To Repair' Law After Automakers Lied It Would Aid Sexual Predators * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Rate this comment as insightful Rate this comment as funny You have rated this comment as insightful You have rated this comment as funny Flag this comment as abusive/trolling/spam You have flagged this comment The first word has already been claimed The last word has already been claimed Lightbulb icon Laughing icon Flag icon Lightbulb icon Laughing icon Comments on "Automakers Try To Bullshit Their Way Past 'Right To Repair' Standoff In Massachusetts" Subscribe: RSS Leave a comment * Filter comments in by Time * Filter comments as Threaded * Filter only comments rated Insightful * Filter only comments rated funny LOL * Filter only comments that are Unread 16 Comments Collapse all replies [d8f264b9e9]Anonymous Coward says: July 27, 2023 at 6:58 am this is typical of all massive companies and industries who are not content with making x amount of profit from their product(s) or service(s), they want to rip the public off for even more money by locking things away from those who bought the things, who are perfectly competent to repair whatever the thing is but want to charge an absolute fortune to repair it in the associated named premises. i still say this all stems from the geohot/sony battle when a corrupt judge awarded sony the right to remove 'another system' from its playstations after using it as a means to gain the market share over microsoft! the fucking idiot screwed everyone over!! Collapse replies (1) Reply View in chronology Make this comment the first word Make this comment the last word Threaded [2] [f35fe255de]Anonymous Coward says: July 27, 2023 at 10:34 am Re: this is typical of all massive companies and industries who are not content with making x amount of profit from their product(s) or service(s), they want to rip the public off for even more money It's more nefarious than that. The blame should properly be laid at the feet of Wall Street and their short-sighted thinking that 90 days is all it takes to become rich. These are the same goons that don't realize that every 90 days, a new 90 days starts all over again. Or actually, when they do realize it, they then think like a kid in a candy store at Christmas - "Hey, I'm rich, but now I can get even richer! Bonus!!!". There's a reason that Soichiro Honda, founder of Honda Motor Co., said at a meeting of company executives "Thank God for the Harvard MBA." Reply View in chronology Make this comment the first word Make this comment the last word [u15994_100x0-1]That Anonymous Coward (profile) says: July 27, 2023 at 7:38 am Well if they want to guarantee a long term revenue stream from locking me into having to use only their over priced repair shops, why aren't the car prices lower?? If certain corporations wanted to limit how food could be prepared to only specialty equipment they sold for twice the price for a similar equipment, with a monthly service fee on top of it... well Congress would be all for that. You can only use our specialty pencil sharpener! You can only use your pencil on approved paper! You can only show your paper to 4 people and then you need to pay a fee to gain the right to allow others to see it! You say silly, i say welcome to the future they really really want to see and most likely will be handed by our elected leaders for relatively small campagin donations that will raise costs to maintain, fix, repair all sorts of things as the hot new future is to find a way to make more revenue by selling your data, putting lease locks on "features" all while charging you full price for the item. Collapse replies (1) Reply View in chronology Make this comment the first word Make this comment the last word Threaded [2] [user-default]discussitlive (profile) says: July 27, 2023 at 10:20 am Re: You say silly Actually, I like the term I saw for this. "The Eternal Landlord" complex. Reply View in chronology Make this comment the first word Make this comment the last word [6d909bacfd]Anonymous Coward says: July 27, 2023 at 7:54 am So they claim that access to the data in a car is a huge security risk that will put lives in danger. I dunno, maybe cars shouldn't be collecting and storing large amounts of sensitive information in the first place?... Collapse replies (3) Reply View in chronology Make this comment the first word Make this comment the last word Threaded [2] [5aa0be5833]Anonymous Coward says: July 27, 2023 at 8:19 am Re: Exactly, as how do they know that their own dealership mechanics won't do what they claim independent mechanics might do. Collapse replies (2) Reply View in chronology Make this comment the first word Make this comment the last word Threaded [3] [9bd17d6750]Anonymous Coward says: July 27, 2023 at 12:26 pm Re: Re: Well, that's easy: see, dealership mechanics have to attend to a yearly mandatory training, where they're being told that they shouldn't do that. And after that they sign a form which, basically, says that they attended to that training and understood its content. If they don't, their management won't allow them to work on a car. Now show me independent mechanic's manager who can do the same. Collapse replies (1) Reply View in chronology Make this comment the first word Make this comment the last word Threaded [4] [0471699cda]Anonymous Coward says: July 27, 2023 at 1:17 pm Re: Re: Re: Hook, line and sinker Reply View in chronology Make this comment the first word Make this comment the last word [ccebb646db]Anonymous Coward says: July 27, 2023 at 8:01 am Car companies can go fuck themselves. I had to take apart my car to remove the cellular modem that spied on me 24/7. Without the spy device, a couple things don't work right. My car still stores data locally and I'm sure shops can download it directly from the computer. Meanwhile I have to hack it to get root access to my own car so that I can dig around on the filesystem. Who really owns my car? We're past due for a Framework Car where it doesn't do shit behind your back and you can readily get parts and schematics. But that's a long shot and meanwhile all the big car makers are going in the opposite direction, making you pay a subscription for heated seats. Soon you'll have to pay a penny per blink of your turn signal and 5 cents every time you roll down the window, and you won't be able to change the channel when ads come on. Reply View in chronology Make this comment the first word Make this comment the last word [85065c0b66]Anonymous Coward says: July 27, 2023 at 8:45 am My other car is a '62 Dodge. Reply View in chronology Make this comment the first word Make this comment the last word [c01277c32b]Anonymous Coward says: July 27, 2023 at 8:52 am Don't blame lobbyists Lobbyists are just doing what they are paid to do. If politicians and other "public servants" didn't/couldn't accept bribes - even small ones - all this BS would stop. Collapse replies (2) Reply View in chronology Make this comment the first word Make this comment the last word Threaded [2] [20220227_PissedO]Stephen T. Stone (profile) says: July 27, 2023 at 9:54 am Re: Lobbyists are just doing what they are paid to do. When has "I was just following orders" ever worked as a defense for heinous bullshit? Reply View in chronology Make this comment the first word Make this comment the last word Threaded [2] [d64ded75f8]Anonymous Coward says: July 27, 2023 at 1:21 pm Re: "Don't blame lobbyists Lobbyists are just doing what they are paid to do." * Hitmen are just doing what they were paid to do. "If politicians and other "public servants" didn't/couldn't accept bribes - even small ones - all this BS would stop." * Not how human nature works. Reply View in chronology Make this comment the first word Make this comment the last word [u163038_100x0-1]got_runs? (profile) says: July 27, 2023 at 9:00 am "Corporations are illegitimate." People should have the right to repair their own crap. Reply View in chronology Make this comment the first word Make this comment the last word [f72a80bffb]Anonymous Coward says: July 27, 2023 at 10:55 am just move on Just throw an electric engine surrounded by razor-wire in every new car and get over it already. Reply View in chronology Make this comment the first word Make this comment the last word [u2515_100x0-1]ECA (profile) says: July 27, 2023 at 12:38 pm anyone hear of the Chicken tax? Wonderful reasoning to Tax trucks. And do you know HOW the EPA, Forces small trucks NOT to be used in the USA? There is vid for both of these, if anyone would want the link here. Reply View in chronology Make this comment the first word Make this comment the last word --------------------------------------------------------------------- [] says: Add Your Comment Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * Have a Techdirt Account? Sign in now. Want one? 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