Tech Industry Moves to Weaken Colorado's Right-to-Repair Law Before It Takes Effect

Technology companies and their lobbyists are pushing to amend Colorado's landmark right-to-repair legislation before it takes full effect, in what consumer advocates describe as a coordinated effort to gut the law's core protections, WIRED reported. Colorado passed one of the broadest right-to-repair laws in the United States, requiring manufacturers to make repair parts, tools, and documentation available to consumers and independent repair shops. The law covers a range of devices including electronics and agricultural equipment. Industry groups have since backed state legislature amendments that would create broad exemptions, limit what counts as a "repair," and add cybersecurity carve-outs that critics say are wide enough to swallow the law's intent. The Colorado fight is being closely watched as a bellwether for right-to-repair battles in other states. More than two dozen states have introduced or passed related legislation, and the technology industry's response in Colorado -- lobbying for amendments immediately after passage -- is seen as a preview of the playbook that will be deployed elsewhere. Manufacturers argue that opening devices to third-party repair creates security risks and intellectual property exposure. Consumer advocates counter that the cybersecurity exception in particular has been written to cover essentially any electronic product, rendering the repair mandate meaningless. The Federal Trade Commission under prior leadership had also pushed manufacturers to honor repair rights, though enforcement posture has shifted. State-level laws have become the primary vehicle for expanding repair access in the current regulatory environment.