https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/v7dagd/corporate-repair-initiatives-dont-replace-the-need-for-right-to-repair-laws

Ken Helt, a farmer in southeastern Iowa, just wants to keep his tractors running. John Deere has made that hard to do. The tractor manufacturer promised to make parts of its repair systems available to consumers by the end of 2021, but it missed that deadline. The deal Deere proposed is similar to announcements made recently by Apple, Google, and Samsung. Facing increasing pressure from the government, these companies have said they’ll make it easier for people to fix their own stuff by providing customers with manuals and selling them parts.

But as Helt has found with John Deere, corporations don’t always live up to their promises and the public should be wary of the promises made by Apple and others. John Deere promised something similar and hasn’t delivered. Worse, as Helt’s experience shows, schemes like what Deere and Apple are proposing still leaves too much control in the hands of the manufacturer. Corporate promises aren’t a replacement for national right-to-repair laws.