Sponsors
The bill substantially expands owners' and independent repairers' rights to access parts, tools, and documentation—boosting competition, lowering repair costs, and reducing e‑waste—while raising significant safety, privacy, liability, and legal‑uncertainty risks that could shift costs to consumers and provoke industry pushback.
Device owners and independent repair providers (small repair shops, DIYers, homeowners) gain guaranteed access to manuals, parts, tools, and necessary firmware/diagnostic information on fair and reasonable terms, enabling more repairs outside OEM channels.
Consumers and communities benefit from increased competition in after‑market repairs (more independent shops and choice), which can lower repair costs and support local small businesses.
Owners and the environment benefit because better access to repair materials and protections against OEM measures that degrade repaired devices encourages longer device lifespans and reduces electronic waste.
Owners, patients, and the public face increased safety and cybersecurity risks because broader access to security locks, firmware, and diagnostic tools can enable unsafe or malicious repairs and potential misuse of sensitive software/credentials.
Consumers may shoulder repair-caused losses (device damage, data loss, privacy breaches) because OEMs are shielded from having to extend warranties or liability for third‑party or owner‑performed repairs.
OEMs could lose repair-related revenue and may respond by raising device prices, limiting investment in new features or updates, or withholding favorable aftermarket services to avoid extending them to independents.
Based on analysis of 7 sections of legislative text.
Requires electronics manufacturers to provide parts, tools, documentation, and updates to owners and independent repairers on fair terms and forbids blocking replacement parts; limits OEM liability for third‑party repairs.
Introduced February 10, 2026 by Ben Ray Luján · Last progress February 10, 2026
Requires makers of digital electronic equipment to give owners and independent repair providers access to the documentation, parts, tools, and software updates needed to diagnose, maintain, or repair devices on fair and reasonable terms. It also bans practices that block installation or function of replacement parts, forbids degrading performance or creating false warnings about replacements, and limits OEM liability for repairs done by third parties or owners. Enforcement is assigned to the Federal Trade Commission with parallel authority for state attorneys general; trade secrets are preserved to the extent necessary; several product categories (motor vehicles, medical devices, many off‑road vehicles, and emergency safety communications equipment) are exempt; the law takes effect 60 days after enactment and applies to equipment sold or in use on or after that date.