From car and phone to tractor owners, a populist wave is rising to end the 'captive' repair economy

the right-to-repair movement has passed state laws in new york (2022), california, colorado, minnesota, connecticut, oregon, and washington (may 2025). advocates are tracking 57 bills across 22 states this year. the movement has united republicans and democrats. in new york, the original bill had to strip out farm equipment after pushback from john deere and caterpillar. deere settled a class-action lawsuit in 2025 for $99 million, agreeing to provide diagnostic tools for a decade. the ftc also sued deere in 2025, alleging it limited software access to dealers and boosted profits. apple initially opposed the laws but has softened its stance; samsung still gets criticism. at the federal level, senators luján (d-nm) and hawley (r-mo) co-sponsor the repair act for autos. luján also sponsors the fair repair act for electronics and appliances. the national automobile dealers association opposes it, calling it a trojan horse for data harvesting. the nfib says 89% of its members support right-to-repair legislation, making it a top priority for 2026.