Right to Repair Scored Big in 2025, But the Fight Is Shifting to Software Locks

Should you be able to fix the gadgets you own? In 2025, consumers won a resounding 'yes' as the right-to-repair movement celebrated major legislative victories. With three US states passing new laws, it marked a turning point after decades of advocacy. But as hardware opens up, manufacturers are already pushing back with 'malicious compliance' and sophisticated software restrictions, shifting the battleground from the workshop to the codebase.

A Year of Legislative Wins

This year's legislative push saw broad, bipartisan support from technologists, farmers, and military leaders, leading to new laws in three states, including Texas, where the measure passed with a unanimous vote in both the House and Senate. "The fundamental problem... is that when you buy equipment, you have a competitive market," says Nathan Proctor, senior director for the United States Public Interest Research Group (USPIRG). "Once you have the equipment, if the manufacturer can make the repair a proprietary process, there's no competition at all."

For many advocates, this is also a critical environmental issue, as repairability keeps electronics out of landfills. The pressure has even pushed companies like Apple and Google to begrudgingly start offering self-repair options, a significant shift for companies long resistant to the idea.

The New Frontier: Malicious Compliance and Code

Despite these victories, companies are finding creative ways to sidestep the spirit of the law. Kyle Wiens, CEO of iFixit, calls it "malicious compliance"—making repair manuals needlessly complex or tools available only in certain states. He says the next big step is ensuring companies actually follow the new laws.

The bigger fight, however, lies in the software. Advocates are targeting Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which prevents bypassing digital locks. Companies exploit this to implement "parts pairing," where software locks prevent a device from working with unauthorized third-party components. This can be seen in the encryption-locked disk drive of the Xbox Series X or proprietary water filters in GE fridges.