Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

CTOnews.com, December 30 (Xinhua)-- New York Governor Kathy Hohr (Kathy Hochul) signed the Digital Equity Restoration Act (Digital Fair Repair Act) on December 28, 2022, which will come into effect on July 1, 2023. The most noteworthy aspect of the new rules is that companies such as Apple, Microsoft and Google are required to provide maintenance manuals for digital products.

CTOnews.com understands that the Act entitles consumers and independent maintenance providers to obtain manuals, diagrams, diagnostics and parts from original equipment manufacturers (OEM) in order to repair their own equipment. But the bill now signed has been amended to provide OEMs with convenient exceptions and loopholes to get rid of the corporate obligations that many maintenance rights advocates have been hoping for.

One of the most controversial changes in the signed law is that it allows original equipment manufacturers to sell part assemblies rather than individual components of their choice. The bill also does not require original equipment manufacturers to provide "passwords, security codes or materials" to bypass security features, which are sometimes necessary to preserve locked but well-functioning devices.

Louis Rothman (Louis Rossmann), a maintenance technician, said this made the bill "functionally useless". Rothman responded to the revised bill today with a video full of detailed analysis and criticism.

The Act does use the term "digital electronic equipment" to broadly define the qualifications of protected equipment. However, it completely exempts certain industries, including household appliances, motor vehicles, medical equipment and off-road equipment. IFixit CEO Kyle Wiens wrote in a statement on the company's blog that it also exempts corporate equipment that schools, hospitals and data centers rely on.

Welcome to subscribe "Shulou Technology Information " to get latest news, interesting things and hot topics in the IT industry, and controls the hottest and latest Internet news, technology news and IT industry trends.