Rep. Schakowsky Sends Letter to GAO on Right to Repair

U.S. Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) recently sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) requesting the office to examine the following:

• Federal agencies’ efforts to ensure consumers’ right to repair, with respect to passenger motor vehicles, including how agencies might balance considerations such as:
• • Protecting consumer choice and ensuring competition in the repair market
  • Addressing cybersecurity risks that may be associated with greater access to vehicle data
    and whether technology exists to ensure both data access and cybersecurity protections
  • Addressing other potential barriers to a robust right to repair in the auto industry.
• What is known about the impact and effectiveness of the auto industry’s self-regulation, particularly to what extent it has ensured consumers’ right to repair, demonstrated transparency to vehicle owners about their right to independent repair and access to their vehicle’s data, and how the industry’s self-regulation regime has adapted to and kept pace with advances in technology;
• What is known about the vehicle repair market for passenger vehicles, for example, the
  competitiveness of the repair market across the U.S.;
• Any recommendations to Federal agencies to ensure consumers’ right to repair based on GAO’s study of the issue

In the letter, Rep. Schakowsky stated, "When manufacturers take steps to limit repairs by consumers and repair shops, it can increase costs to consumers, unfairly advantage manufacturer repair shops over independent repair shops, and affect consumers’ rights. Robust protection of consumers’ right to repair is critical to counteracting these impacts.

Read the full letter here.