It is not the first time that Apple’s device policies are called into question, sitting at odds with the company’s recently announced sustainability targets
The inconvenience of repair: The US Federal Trade Commission called out Apple, among other companies, for putting in place ‘anti-competitive repair restrictions’. The report to Congress alleges Apple makes it impossible for repair businesses to compete, because some parts are synchronised to a device’s logic board, making them only repairable by Apple. The company also imposes strict conditions on independent repairers, including a right to carry out inspections even after they leave Apple’s independent repair program. Consumers are worse off, because repair prices are inflated so much that they become economically inconvenient. The report notes that Apple’s experience with the battery replacement program suggests that consumers will opt for low-cost repairs rather than buying a new phone where they are able to choose.
Other competition authorities also take issue with Apple’s policies: As reported in our Platforms and Big Tech Tracker, the Italian competition authority fined Apple €10m in 2018 for forcing software updates that significantly reduced the performance of devices, without offering adequate support to consumers or providing them with an effective way to restore full functionality.
A bad look for sustainability: The FTC’s report considers the environmental issues associated with restrictions to device repairability. It notes that industry has made efforts to reduce e-waste and ensuring devices are recycled, but concludes that extending the life of consumer products unquestionably delays these products’ entry into the waste stream and reduces the amount of energy used to generate replacement products. This is an aspect Apple will need to keep in mind, in light of its recently announced sustainability targets.
Right-to-repair laws are gaining momentum: The FTC’s report calls for the enforcement of existing federal laws which already include ‘anti-tying’ provisions, whereby consumers are able to seek maintenance from someone other than the dealer. Individual US states are also introducing laws enshrining a right to repair – three of them already have it in place, and at least 20 of them are discussing bills to that effect. The report also suggests a self-regulatory scheme could work, but notes that only the car industry has successfully implemented one so far.
