The right-to-repair motion has had its share of adversaries. From Big Tech to politicians and people who do not assume product repairability must be government-mandated, it has been a tedious battle for a motion that has seen main wins currently. One of the newest wins got here from Apple, a former DIY restore combatant, supporting repairability laws. But taking Apple’s place is a new entity aiming to restrict right-to-repair laws: Scientologists.
Today, 404 Media reported on a letter despatched on August 10 to the US Copyright Office by Ryland Hawkins of Author Services Inc. The firm, its web site and letterhead say, represents the “literary, theatrical, and musical works of L. Ron Hubbard, the late founding father of Scientology. Author Services, in accordance to information archived through the WayBackMachine, is owned by the Church of Spiritual Technology, which describes itself as a church inside Scientology.
The letter addresses Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which “makes it illegal to circumvent technological measures used to forestall unauthorized entry to copyrighted works.” The Scientology group’s letter seeks to alter exemptions granted for self-repairing some shopper electronics, like online game consoles, laptops, house home equipment, and farming tractors.
Author Services’ letter argues that whereas that exemption works for the “many shopper units” that embrace “unilateral ‘shrink-wrap’ licenses governing the phrases of use of the software program,” they should not apply to units that “can solely be bought and utilized by somebody who possess [sic] specific {qualifications} or has been particularly skilled in the usage of the machine.” With these merchandise, the license settlement is “negotiated and agreed to upfront” of buy and will embrace restrictions which can be essential to “protected and correct” machine utilization.
The Scientology-tied group seeks an modification to the exemption in order that it would not apply to software-powered units that may solely be bought by somebody with specific {qualifications} or coaching or that use software program “ruled by a license settlement negotiated and executed” earlier than buy.
Before we get into what horse the Church of Scientology may have within the right-to-repair race, let’s take into account whether or not its modification is excessive.
“It’s a completely unreasonable proposal,” Elizabeth Chamberlain, director of sustainability at iFixit, informed Ars Technica. “I can think about producers utilizing the presence of a ‘fast begin’ information for a product as proof that their shoppers are ‘specifically skilled in use of the machine’ and thus denying broad entry to restore.”
She famous that such an modification would render the proposed exemptions for business and industrial tools from right-to-repair activists “toothless.”
Chamberlain added:
Tying restore materials entry to coaching is harmful as a result of it helps producers keep their walled gardens of restore. When producers can require particular coaching, they’ll cost what they need for that coaching, gatekeep who’s allowed entry to it, and shut it down to enhance enterprise for his or her in-house technicians. Consumers see the results of this sort of limitation in much less entry to restore and better costs.
Why would Scientologists care about machine repairability?
As to why a Scientology-owned group would care about such a matter, 404 Media advised that it may have to do with Scientology E-meters, or electropsychometers. The Church of Scientology describes the machines as an “digital instrument that measures psychological state and alter of state in people and assists the precision and velocity of auditing” and that solely a Scientology minister or coaching minister ought to use. 404 Media famous that some individuals gather the units and, oddly sufficient, you could find E-Meters bought on eBay.
As famous within the letter despatched to the Copyright Office, Author Services fears the 1201 exemptions may jeopardize correct machine utilization, which it believes is “important for the machine manufacture[r] to keep its repute and goodwill.”
If this letter is certainly about E-meters, the one digital machine Scientology is instantly linked to, then Author Services could also be involved about how the Church of Scientology’s repute could possibly be impacted if E-Meters are dissected.
“My hunch is that the Scientologists assume granting the hacking neighborhood permission to dig into their E-Meter software program will expose the entire operation as snake oil. The request is like so many different anti-Right to Repair arguments: Manufacturers are afraid that entry to restore supplies will expose a few of their different soiled secrets and techniques,” Chamberlain mentioned.
Nathan Proctor, US Public Interest Research Group’s senior director, informed 404 Media that Author Services’ requested DMCA modifications would forestall individuals from repairing merchandise with end-user license agreements (EULAs). E-Meters have EULAs, 404 Media reported, that block extraordinary individuals from entering into essential software program and require an International Association of Scientologists membership quantity to replace E-meter software program.
Regardless of how a corporation representing the works of the creator of Scientology ended up within the Copyright Office’s mailbox, right-to-repair advocates say the modification would hurt the motion and would lengthen previous electropsychometers if it had been ever applied.
“Obviously, only a few individuals personal E-Meters and even fewer individuals need to restore them. But the modification they’re proposing may undermine restore rights for a lot of different units,” Chamberlain mentioned.
Hawkins did not instantly reply to Ars’ request for remark.