economy
After years of campaigns, the EU passed rules in 2024 forcing makers to help consumers fix gadgets like phones instead of replacing them.
The right to repair is the movement these 2024 EU laws support, requiring manufacturers to make spare parts, tools, and repair manuals available so consumers can fix devices like phones instead of being forced to discard and replace them. This directly counters a common industry practice of designing products that are difficult or expensive to repair, which had been driving unnecessary electronic waste and locking customers into buying new devices more often than necessary.
Planned obsolescence is actually the opposite concept, describing deliberate design choices that shorten a product's useful life to encourage repeat purchases, which is precisely what right-to-repair laws aim to counteract. Duty-free shopping refers to tax-exempt retail at borders and airports, unrelated to repair rights.
Supporters argue these laws could meaningfully cut household spending over time, since keeping and repairing a phone or appliance for a few extra years avoids the cost of buying a full replacement.
economy
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