Testimony Before Massachusetts Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure

Testimony Before the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure
Regarding Right to Repair Laws in Massachusetts

Hunter Hamberlin, State Policy Manager

Taxpayers Protection Alliance

June 26, 2023

Good afternoon, my name is Hunter Hamberlin. I am State Policy Manager of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA), a nonprofit, nonpartisan taxpayer advocacy and consumer watchdog organization.

I want to thank the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure for the opportunity to testify. Respectfully, TPA opposes H.360 and S.142 on behalf of taxpayers throughout Massachusetts.

Enabling unauthorized repair shops to service any customer bought technology sounds great in practice, but in reality, it adds heightened risk of privacy violations and cybersecurity risks for consumers. This will increase the likelihood that valuable personal information could end up in the hands of malicious actors. Consumer privacy protection should be a priority for technology manufacturers, and right-to-repair bills undermine this priority.

H.360 would also result in government mandates on how they can operate and who they can deal with. Mandating private company collaboration could lead to unwelcomed consequences from government-imposed intervention. During a turbulent economy, it is best to ensure that private businesses can do what they think is best for them, rather than obligate them to work with private companies that they may not have worked with otherwise. Repair shops with full access to a consumers device also have the potential to perform subpar repairs that could end up negatively affecting a company’s brand.

Consumers obviously care about lower prices, but price is only one consumer preference. Some consumer advocates think right-to-repair bills will lower costs in the short run. But, manufacturers could just as easily raise prices on their core products to compensate for increased costs and lost revenue as a result of right-to-repair mandates.

Right-to-repair bills are undoubtedly well-intended, however, intent does not equate to outcomes. The Massachusetts state legislature should focus on other legislative needs for the state. TPA encourages you to reject this bill. Thank you.