Tell the EFF about your right to modify & repair #RightToRepair @EFF

Have you tried modifying, repairing, or diagnosing a product but bumped into encryption, a password requirement, or some other technological roadblock that got in the way? EFF wants your stories to help people fight for their rights to get around those obstacles.

Every three years, there is a window of opportunity to get exemptions to this law to protect legitimate uses of copyrighted works. Last time around, we were able to preserve your right to repair, maintain, and diagnose your smartphones, home appliances, and home systems. For 2021, we’re asking the Copyright Office to expand that exemption to cover all software-enabled devices and to cover the right to modify or customize those products, not just repair them.

If you have a story about how:

• someone in the United States;
• attempted or planned to repair, modify, or diagnose a product with a software component; and
• encountered a technological protection measure (including DRM or digital rights management—any form of software security measure that restricts access to the underlying software code, such as encryption, password protection, or authentication requirements) that prevented completing the modification, repair, or diagnosis (or had to be circumvented to do so)

—EFF wants to hear from you!

Go here to learn how to submit your story.