Please take a look at California Senate Bill 244 – which extends “right to repair” to include electronics and appliances. I wrote a lengthy post on this over on my personal blog. You can read that post here:
https://blog.smallbizthoughts.com/2023/02/proposed-california-right-to-repair.html
But my opinion is not the NSITSP stand on this issue. To date, NSITSP has not taken a stand. But I hope we do. I have asked the Legislative Committee to put this issue on their agenda.
Many of our members got started back in the days when technicians all carried screwdrivers because opening up computers was a regular part of the job. Those days are gone. But a significant number of IT consultants and technicians make a living fixing things. So, it seems like a natural issue to take a stand on.
We as an organization should take some kind of stand on the right to repair. Since it affects tens of thousands of SMB IT companies, and their clients, I think we should be seated at the table when decisions are being made.
This is exactly the kind of topic we should be involved in. It involves a subset of our industry and a subset of our membership. There are some natural allies on this topic (e.g., the Public Interest Research Group) and some natural opposition (Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Facebook, T-Mobile, and more).
This is a great opportunity for us to demonstrate the kind of legislation that we should take a stand on. It’s a great opportunity to build alliances with other organizations. And it’s a great opportunity to demonstrate value to our members.
Whether you agree with me or not: NOW is a great time for you to join, get involved, and give us your opinion. How do YOU think we should respond to this issue?
You car read the proposed legislation here:
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB244
Your feedback is always welcome.
🙂