How tech firms are resisting the ‘Right to Repair’

Some of us are old enough to remember the days when you could easily swap out a dud battery in your flip phone. Nowadays, repairing virtually any electronic device - from a smartphone to a gaming console, microwave oven or fan - can cost more than buying a new one. Companies make it hard for technicians to get inside their products, source parts, or update software. So devices are just thrown away, generating potentially hazardous waste and forcing consumers to buy new items whose production further taxes the environment. After long resisting calls from campaign groups for a "right to repair" gadgets, some big manufacturers are starting to change their tune.

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