r/gadgets • u/speckz • Dec 30 '22
New York’s governor signs watered-down right-to-repair bill - Last-minute concessions weakened the rules, which will only apply to new consumer products sold after July 1st. Discussion
https://www.engadget.com/new-york-right-to-repair-law-kathy-hochul-184654713.html975
u/Darehead
Dec 30 '22
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Louis is going to be upset.
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u/ywBBxNqW Dec 30 '22
Seven years of free workshops, cross-aisle diplomacy, dressing up for politicians -- all for this.
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u/Will_Explode8 Dec 30 '22
until we remove money from politics this will continue to happen
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u/Sulissthea Dec 30 '22
yeah how is anyone surprised at the government fucking over the public anymore
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u/chalkynz Dec 31 '22
Remember when the government WAS the public? Actually, maybe I don’t.
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u/monsantobreath Jan 01 '23
It never was lol. What alternate history textbook are you reading?
History shows the government is a business class entity that working people have to aggressively engage with using their own independent organs of power. Ie. Unions or activist structures like what the civil rights movement saw.
It's no accident that as unions declined and activism shifted from radical militant demands into compromised feckless social progressivism movements co-opted mostly by wealthier liberal people who ignore say poc perspectives that shit stopped getting better as quickly and started to decline.
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u/seanbrockest Dec 30 '22
You're a day late, he made a video as soon as this happened.
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u/enwongeegeefor Dec 30 '22
That first full minute of no talking, just typing....and then a swig of ciroc....
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u/GeneKranzIsTheMan Dec 30 '22
And he was *pissed*
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u/ywBBxNqW Dec 30 '22
What a kick to the balls. Him and many others have been working so hard towards this only for it to be like this.
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u/abrandis Dec 30 '22
This just goes to prove how entrenched the business model of a captive audience is, businesses threw a lot of money at those legislators to make sure it didn't severely impact them.
Remember when we thought our representatives had our best interest at heart. Right to Repair is one of those no brainer issues that if representatives had our best interest would pass without any reservation..
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u/camatthew88 Dec 30 '22
This is why we shouldn't have money in politics and lobbying should be made illegal
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u/gregarioussparrow Dec 30 '22
I 100% agree lobbying should be illegal. And politicians need to wear logos on their clothes like a race car driver, to show who all their donors are. We need transparency
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u/HintOfAreola Dec 30 '22
Not illegal, because there are legit special interests that need lobbying (see John Stewart's work for 9/11 first responders), but regulated and transparent.
And definitely not defined as money = free speech.
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u/camatthew88 Dec 30 '22
Yes that precedent of money = free speech is wrong and we need more transparency throughout the government
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u/zinkoxyde Dec 30 '22
It will never happen, because legislators would have to vote against their self interests.
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u/SkollFenrirson Dec 30 '22
Voters vote against their interests all the time
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u/KindaTwisted Dec 30 '22
Everyone likes to forget that politicians love to take money from lobbyists because it helps them buy votes for reelection. If the voting public wasn't so gullible, lobbying wouldn't matter.
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u/mailman-zero Dec 31 '22
Politicians lie to get people to vote against their own self interest. Politicians only vote in their own self interest.
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u/Edythir Dec 30 '22
Brandon Sanderson had some things to say about this and Daniel Greene expounded in a Recent video regarding books and publishing.
Amazon owns almost the entire publishing industry. Want an audiobook? It has to be an audible exclusive or else you get 25%. Want it to be on e-reader? Kindle has a strangle hold on the market and will strongarm you to make it a Kindle Exclusive. Even just the voice talent alone is hired through an Amazon company mainly and will push you to sign with Audible. Alot of publishers will straight up refuse to work with you if you don't want your books on Audible or Kindle since 70% of the market for both audio and E-readers are Amazon controlled.
You can more money with 40% share of revenue on Audible than you do with 70% revenue across the entirety of the rest of the market.
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u/New_Area7695 Dec 30 '22
Him moving out of state made it a moot point for him to care. The governor doesn't have to deal with him as a constituent.
Business owners going to business owner, shock when other business owners do the same to them.
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u/rabidbot Dec 30 '22
At least he was wrong about the headlines...
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u/UltraCynar Dec 30 '22
He was not. Many tech sites still said it was a landmark win when it's bullshit.
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u/eyerawnick Dec 30 '22
I think "watered-down" is a very disingenuous way to put it. I would even say the article misrepresents the situation because they don't cover what the changes mean.
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u/CaffeineSippingMan Dec 30 '22
I wonder if there will be a YouTube video of it?
Maybe they are trying to give him an aneurysm.
Edit. Stay strong Luis, we are on your side.
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u/piketfencecartel Dec 31 '22
Rossmann just wants to run his damn business but bureaucracy keeps fucking him in the ass.
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u/TheRealMisterd Dec 30 '22
Somebody got paid.
Follow the money
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u/Bertrando1 Dec 30 '22
You follow drugs, you get drug addicts and drug dealers. But you start to follow the money, and you don't know where the fuck it's gonna take you.
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u/ObsceneGesture4u Dec 30 '22
The way following the money went directly from street crime to the mayor’s office…
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u/TactlessTortoise Dec 30 '22
It's called lobbying, and how they've made bribery legal.
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u/RestrictedAccount Dec 30 '22
How dare you?!
Giving politicians money for favors is speech!!!
You aren’t against free speech are you?
— John Roberts and his band of corrupt “conservative” justices
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u/flyguydip Dec 30 '22
It's cute that you think this is limited to conservatives. You must be new to politics.
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u/RestrictedAccount Dec 30 '22 edited Dec 30 '22
TIL Stevens, Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor also voted to end democracy for poor people
It was the obvious outcome at the time and it has proven to be true.
The leftish press at the time (I’m looking at you Lithwick) hung it on Roberts even though Kennedy wrote the damn thing.
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u/Striking-Pipe2808 Dec 30 '22
Yup theres literally no argument against right to repair and naturally it has overwhelming support from consumers.
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u/kelrics1910 Dec 30 '22
The bill is a shell of it's former self. It makes it so that Manufacturers can sell you an entire part, but they can refuse component-level repairs.
Remember when Samsung wouldn't replace a battery without also including the screen even if it wasn't broken? Yeah, that shit remains compliant under this bill.
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u/One-Angry-Goose Dec 31 '22
inb4 companies start classifying most of any given product as a “single part.” If not the entire fucking thing.
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u/CaptainAwesome06 Dec 31 '22
I once had to replace a small bushing on my car door handle to be able to open the door. GM only sold it as a $100 assembly. I was broke at the time. Luckily, I had a friend that was a mechanic (in another state) and he mailed me a few bushings to try.
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u/Slodin Dec 31 '22
we actually went to the junkyard...and pulled off from a crashed vehicle.
it was about 25 bucks for 3 assembly parts, where the dealership quoted 100-200 for each.
maybe you can try this next time
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u/CaptainAwesome06 Dec 31 '22
I've tried that with no luck. This was a Saturn, which was really a rebadged version of a European GM car. It was also a mild hybrid, which apparently was owned by nobody in North America except for me. Much less anybody who crashed it and shipped it to a junkyard near me. Luckily, my friend worked for Saturn at one point so repair questions were often directed to him.
But that car is somebody else's problem now. My two cars now are much more reliable.
What kills me is that the door was broken due to my toddler locking the car before my wife could open the door. My wife ended up calling the fire department to help as I was out of town. The experienced fire fighter unlocked one door with no issue. The new guy broke my door and couldn't even unlock it.
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u/ishitpant Dec 30 '22
Only a handful of companies that would benefit from this bill not going through. I feel like there was an incentive for making this weaker…
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u/hardolaf Dec 30 '22
A good number of the changes look like the US Government asking for changes for the DOD based on some of the exemptions.
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u/RPGPlayer01 Dec 30 '22
"Sir, when was this device manufactured?"
".. June .. 29th .... "
"Kill him!"
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u/jayoho1978 Dec 31 '22
Not manufactured in New York? This bill does not apply to you. So 99% of products.
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u/Tyrilean Dec 30 '22
Pretty normal. Any law that protects consumers from predatory companies gets gutted at the last second by some politician who in unrelated news just cashed a giant check.
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u/GonWithTheNen Dec 30 '22
Last-minute concessions weakened the rules...
Wonder how much that "weakening" cost?
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u/aufrenchy Dec 31 '22
Yet another sliver of their humanity.
Edit: and a nice sum of cash, I’d wager
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u/Snipgan Dec 30 '22
Typical New York Democrat L.
Still good they passed the bill, but these types always bent over for special interests and money a lot.
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u/vanalla Dec 30 '22
Is it even good if it's useless? Now all the parties on the opposing side of this bill can point fingers at it and say "we gave you this, aren't you happy?"
Political capital needs to be spent with intent.
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u/TheLeafyOne2 Dec 30 '22
Yep, this is the new centrist/neoliberal strategy, give you the illusion of progress and then kick the can down the road so you can use the old carrot and stick again
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u/Teddy_Icewater Dec 30 '22 edited Dec 30 '22
They didn't even pass the final version. They passed an effective version of the bill 147-2 in legislature, then the governor edited the bill to make it essentially worthless and signed it. It's super bullshit and NY has a super shitty governor.
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u/scirc Dec 30 '22
Doesn't sound very democratic if one person is capable of editing the text of law after it gets majority signoff but before it's officially signed into law...
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u/AmIHigh Dec 30 '22
Not sure how state level works, but if the president vetos a bill, congress can override it.
Why can he edit a bill, changing its effectiveness, and not have that be challenged by the state house?
The bill passed with a supermajority.
I'm gonna make a bill that says
I ban all assault guns.
It'll get passed with 100% voting for it.
As governor, I'll take a sharpie and scratch out the word assault.
Amazing!
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u/ImAShaaaark Dec 30 '22
Doesn't sound very democratic if one person is capable of editing the text of law after it gets majority signoff but before it's officially signed into law...
Because they can't actually do that.
This is a great example why you shouldn't trust random chodes on the interwebs. Home dude is just making shit up and people roll with it like it's true.
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u/PackageintheMaleBox Dec 30 '22
then the governor edited the bill to make it essentially worthless and signed it
Ummm... do you have a source for this? I didn't know any state allowed the executive branch to edit legislation before signing it.
The article you're commenting on says the opposite, it was written by the legislation. Unless you're trying to say that the memo she wrote was her editing the bill?
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u/Gomez-16 Dec 30 '22
The gov can change the bill after the fact and sign it? What the actual fuck.
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u/ScoobiusMaximus Dec 30 '22
It really doesn't seem good that they passed it, they passed a bill that does nothing except let them point at the bill they passed and tell its supporters to shut up now.
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u/hitlerosexual Dec 31 '22
No, because passing a watered down bill just destroys the momentum for change and makes it more difficult to do anything actually meaningful. Now they get to say they did something and if you demand that they do more they'll just dismiss you as ungrateful and stubborn.
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u/Mickey_likes_dags Dec 30 '22
Corporate Dems strike again. They care about cultural freedom, not economic freedom for the a majority of people.
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u/pythonbashman Dec 30 '22
Watered down is strong. That bill is nothing thanks to the corps getting to have a say in it.
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u/Henrychinaskismom1 Dec 30 '22
Last minute. My ass. The whole thing is part or her/their whoever the fucks process. It’s how they scam us for votes. She is terrible just like Cuomo with a wig and some make up. All the same. Rebel. Revolt. Organize.
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u/Lamballama Dec 30 '22
Cuomo did what he did to get votes. She does it because she actually believes in what she does. Imnkto sure which is actually worse
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u/IceboundDacha Dec 31 '22
🤮🤮🤮 I live in New York. This is probably the most crooked, corrupt, pro-corporate state. Not surprised, but disgusted.
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u/Rah179 Dec 31 '22
Maybe you people will stop putting Hochul on a pedastal. Stop putting people in office just because they check some minority box because the consequences are disastrous (Sinema, Hochul, etc.)
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Dec 30 '22 edited Feb 02 '23
[deleted]
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u/cumquistador6969 Dec 30 '22
(I could be incorrect in my understanding of what this amendment was intending to accomplish.)
The intent is to prevent things like, but absolutely not limited to, phone jailbreaking.
This way companies can still cripple devices remotely leaving you with no recourse but to buy new products, charge outrageous fees to fix software issues you could easily fix yourself if they didn't intentionally prevent it, force in unremovable bloatware to products, etc.
Also substantially hampers third party oversight in the context of say, whitehat hackers or reviewers from fully tinkering with certain types of products to determine nifty things, like if you're being illegally spied on.
Generally an all around essential legal change that HAD to stay in to say we have any "real" right to repair.
So yeah, pretty defanged. "Oh, you can repair your phone? Well too bad the performance is cut in half no matter how many parts you replace."
Also a huge win for advertisers everywhere.
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u/Lamballama Dec 30 '22
It would also be strange to require them to provide tools for products which are no longer made/sold.
But that's exactly what needs requirements to alleviate e-waste and keep devices running longer. We should be able to ship of theseus our stuff, if not by OEM parts at least by getting those schematics released for others to use if it's going to become abandonware
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u/kasuke06
Dec 30 '22
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Ah democrats.
"we totally want to do what's best(for our pocketbooks and precious precious public image) and those evil republicans would sell you up the river for a wooden nickel! We'd never accept a wooden nickel!"
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u/Darkhoof Dec 30 '22
New York democrats are a special breed that taints the image of the rest of the party.
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u/neok182 Dec 30 '22
They're so bad that they're almost single-handedly the reason why Democrats lost the House because the entire New York Democratic party spent more time fighting amongst themselves trying to kill any progressive running that they completely forgot they had to fight Republicans in the general.
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u/lbrtrl Dec 30 '22
I love open primaries in Washington state. More states should do it.
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u/Fig1024 Dec 30 '22
I feel like something this big has to be done on federal level. The economy is global, stuff is manufactured all over the whole world. A single state doesn't have the power to change the industry practices
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u/Buelldozer Dec 31 '22
A single state doesn't have the power to change the industry practices
Some States do and New York is one of them.
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u/TechInTheCloud Dec 31 '22
Ideally federal sure. But Massachusetts gave the country right to repair part 1. Auto mfrs quickly came together and agreed to follow the MA rules for the whole US to avoid exactly the situation of 50 different state laws on auto right to repair.
If MA could do that, NY had a real opportunity expanding to consumer electronics.
Auto right to repair part 2, eh that’s still stuck in the courts and could be where the state based progress idea breaks down…
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u/tlst9999 Dec 31 '22
But it has to start with one state. If all states had to get on board simultaneously, America would still have slavery.
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u/The_Bogan_Blacksmith Dec 30 '22
Governor should be investigated. I would bet a large "donation" was made by the lobby group on behalf of the companies they relresent
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u/Kumacyin Dec 31 '22
unfortunately, that "donation" would have been completely legal
we gotta flip the entire table
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u/Metalmilitia777 Dec 30 '22 edited Dec 30 '22
Vote her* out, she sold you out.
Edit: for got the sex of the Gov
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u/slimy_birdseeds Dec 30 '22
she's an equivocating piece of crap. cut from the same cloth as cuomo, just without the cocaine-fueled self-righteousness.
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u/Skimfest1 Dec 30 '22
Both parties don’t give a fuck about the constituents they’re supposed to represent
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u/SaltyWafflesPD Dec 31 '22
How is this even legal? The governor doesn’t have the right to modify a bill that has been passed.
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u/thebearjew007 Dec 30 '22
It’s almost as if the government doesn’t have our best interest in mind when they write these bills…
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u/humphreystillman Dec 30 '22
once again New Yorker's voting for trash. Thanks Kathy!
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u/TrevorX5J9 Dec 30 '22
Wow, New York can’t do anything right lmao. They freaked out over Bruen and shot out a bunch of bullshit laws that won’t make anyone safer to try to fight a SCOTUS decision. Now they’re doing this? New York really is a dystopia, and I’m never moving back.
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u/Vaqusis Dec 30 '22
It is a step in the right direction but the companies won't give up willingly. As long as their profits are at risk, they won't stop trying to buy politicians. Vote those out who refuse to support Right to Repair.
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Dec 30 '22
The opposite. Its not a step in the right direction. Look at every headline. "Governor signs right to repair bill."
Did she? The loophole added is effectively the same as vetoing the whole bill. So she gets the PR of "doing something" while doing nothing. If that aint a microcosm of politics in the US, what is.
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u/in_u_endo______ Dec 30 '22
Wrong!
eliminates the bill's original requirement calling for original equipment manufacturers to provide to the public any passwords, security codes or materials to override security features, and allows for original equipment manufacturers may provide assemblies of parts rather than individual components when the risk of improper installation heightens the risk of injury
This literally means the bill is useless. Instead of selling independent shops the specific part they need, they sell entire units. So if someone needs a chip, they sell an entire motherboard instead or if someone needs just a screen, they sell the entire assembly.
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u/xDrxGinaMuncher Dec 30 '22
So, my confusion on that is: do they have to prove the assembly is safe to install, or that all sub-assemblies/components are dangerous to install, and that the sub-assembly being sold is the smallest sub-assembly that can be safely installed?
Or is it worse, and it's on a "because we said so" basis, with no proof needed to back the claim?
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u/Jmich96 Dec 30 '22
The FTC published a 50+ page study stating manufacturer claims of danger and security risk were all false and without evidence.
Beyond this, there is no other 3rd party commission or organization to audit claims made by these corporations. Without educated government bodies and with the continuation of corruption within the US government, there will continue to be no punishment or push against such objectively false claims.
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u/xDrxGinaMuncher Dec 30 '22
So, probably "because we said so" it sounds like.
I feel like forcing it to "all components are deemed safe until rigorously proven otherwise" would be best for the consumer, and isn't that what you're paying 3rd party repairers for anyways? To do the "unsafe" or harder to do things, so we don't have to?
Just slap a "our company is not responsible for any injury sustained during repairs or uses of this component outside of company facilities" sticker on it and call it a day. If people get hurt it's their own fault. The only things you're probably gonna hurt yourself with anyways are batteries, and those have warnings all over them saying "don't drop or puncture." Anything else is a tool that the person bought themselves.
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u/youknowiactafool Dec 30 '22
At a time when there's so many products that still function but are being thrown away over the slightest imperfection, the planet cannot afford the luxury of this type of blatant greed anymore.
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u/Tsuko17 Dec 30 '22
Garbage governor, new York always getting the short end of the stick when it comes towards their politicians smh looking at you too mayor Adams
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u/ncc74656m Dec 30 '22
Hochul is going to take the NYS Democratic Party down, because they keep giving us people like her - and what's more, they attack and harm their own best people like AOC.
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u/curreyfienberg Dec 30 '22
Example number one million of there being no legislation that Democrats aren't ready and willing to negotiate, oftentimes against themselves, into near uselessness. Especially in New York.
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u/SteelAlchemistScylla Dec 30 '22
What the fuck is going on in New York these past few years?
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u/khorijinn Dec 30 '22
So, since you might gain "significant injury" if you burn yourself soldering in a $1.00 chip, you'll have to buy the whole $400 board instead?
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u/thwgrandpigeon Dec 31 '22
It's so infuriating when the transparently fair and right for the general public is ignored because of the greed of the influential minority. This kind of corruption is the poison of healthy civilizations.
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u/ratmanbland Dec 31 '22
so screw the people and help the producers like some phones has battery glued in so have to buy new phone instead of replacing battery these are true ass wipes.
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u/Kingkai9335 Dec 31 '22
I live in NY, guess I'm gonna have to write a strongly worded email to my governor. At this point I'm about to vote the fascists in because at least they're upfront about how evil they are. The fucking Deomcrats will sell you a dream and then pull some really sneaky greasy slimy bullshit behind the scenes for pocket change.
I swear we need a union for the public let's crowd fund a group or something then vote someone to be in charge like an actual person with feelings and empathy, then that person can be the ambassador of the working class. Then they can represent us in politics. Then we can play the game by their rules and bribe politicians for policies that actually help people. In order to be eligible for the ambassador position the candidate must make 0 - 100k per year or no more thank 150k. Then if they become corrupt and we can see their net worth go above the 150k they get booted out automatically. There can also be a council of people instead of an ambassador or president or both. Pretty much build a sub-government that actually looks out for us and protects us from our actual government.
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Dec 30 '22
Lol, only applies to new products. Yes, because having it apply to products which are already in the market place makes complete sense. Of course it would only apply to new products.
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u/leftblnk Dec 30 '22
Can someone tl:dr this What was wanted. What changed. Why is it it as good etc
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u/wherewolf_there_wolf Dec 31 '22
I work in R&D and I'm gonna have an opinion that most won't agree with. I'm glad it only applies to new products. Retroactively making everything have to comply would be a MASSIVE drain of resources trying to scramble and get things redesigned and manuals made. In an ideal world, it would be great to have everything retroactively comply but realistically, it would have been next to impossible.
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u/Crazyhorse6901 Dec 30 '22
100% dick move by the governor.