<story><title>British right to repair law excludes smartphones and computers</title><url>https://9to5mac.com/2021/07/01/british-right-to-repair-law/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>celestialcheese</author><text>In the US, at least, unlocking devices is legal as of 2015(?) through DMCA exemptions, which has been huge for recyclers and refurbishers.&lt;p&gt;Still couldn&amp;#x27;t get game console unlocking through, but at least phones &amp;#x2F; tablets &amp;#x2F; other devices that are locked can be unlocked and resold.&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;resource-recycling.com&amp;#x2F;e-scrap&amp;#x2F;2018&amp;#x2F;11&amp;#x2F;01&amp;#x2F;digital-device-unlocking-allowances-renewed&amp;#x2F;&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;resource-recycling.com&amp;#x2F;e-scrap&amp;#x2F;2018&amp;#x2F;11&amp;#x2F;01&amp;#x2F;digital-de...&lt;/a&gt;</text></item><item><author>cunidev</author><text>Not even mentioning the hardware bits, I have been collaborating with postmarketOS for a while now, and believe that the main thing we need to make those devices longer-lasting would be an unlockable bootloader by law.&lt;p&gt;This sounds so logical (why cannot I run, by voiding the warranty, any code I want on my machine, whatever it is?), yet apparently so hard to make openly illegal, since the problem is barely acknowledged in general.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>SkeuomorphicBee</author><text>The DMCA exception only means that the manufacturer can&amp;#x27;t sue you for unlocking a device they meant to be unlockable. So, of you find a way to do it, it is not a crime to hack a device you own.&lt;p&gt;Right to repair laws are (would be) a whole different beast, it would mean the manufacturer would have to sell the devices unlocked or provide the unlock method themselves.&lt;p&gt;In other words, DMCA exception removes a legal hurdle for repeatability, but Right to Repair legislation would remove the technical hurdles (and some other legal hurdles).</text></comment>
<story><title>British right to repair law excludes smartphones and computers</title><url>https://9to5mac.com/2021/07/01/british-right-to-repair-law/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>celestialcheese</author><text>In the US, at least, unlocking devices is legal as of 2015(?) through DMCA exemptions, which has been huge for recyclers and refurbishers.&lt;p&gt;Still couldn&amp;#x27;t get game console unlocking through, but at least phones &amp;#x2F; tablets &amp;#x2F; other devices that are locked can be unlocked and resold.&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;resource-recycling.com&amp;#x2F;e-scrap&amp;#x2F;2018&amp;#x2F;11&amp;#x2F;01&amp;#x2F;digital-device-unlocking-allowances-renewed&amp;#x2F;&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;resource-recycling.com&amp;#x2F;e-scrap&amp;#x2F;2018&amp;#x2F;11&amp;#x2F;01&amp;#x2F;digital-de...&lt;/a&gt;</text></item><item><author>cunidev</author><text>Not even mentioning the hardware bits, I have been collaborating with postmarketOS for a while now, and believe that the main thing we need to make those devices longer-lasting would be an unlockable bootloader by law.&lt;p&gt;This sounds so logical (why cannot I run, by voiding the warranty, any code I want on my machine, whatever it is?), yet apparently so hard to make openly illegal, since the problem is barely acknowledged in general.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>bosswipe</author><text>It&amp;#x27;s meaningless if hackers can&amp;#x27;t bypass the security, which is true more and more as the companies get better with their security. What we need is bootloader unlocking provided by the manufacturers.</text></comment>