Right To Repair In New York, Nationwide Supports More Than Just Sustainability, Affordability
The right to repair supports more than just sustainability and affordability
Editor’s note: Staten Islander previously covered the growth of the Right To Repair movement, and how it has been gaining traction with new laws in New York and Colorado. Since a lot of farming takes place in Upstate New York, these rules are particularly important, as they often apply to farm vehicles and machines that are critical to planting, pest control, and harvesting. We also reported on a weed-zapping robot that could revolutionize weed control in modern farming, reducing the use of harmful chemicals that damage the environment. The right to repair is important for many reasons: freedom first and foremost, but repairability is also vital if we want to reduce the tons of e-waste we produce and take care of the earth that nurtures us. In addition, a long life-cycle for our tools helps to make life more affordable on the subsistence level.
If we want to effectively fight for the right to repair, it’s important to realize that unrepairability is just a symptom; in today’s technological culture, the root of the problem almost always comes down to a lack of software freedom. When software isn’t free, it deprives us of our right to study and modify a device, and thereby prevents us from repairing it. Even if we can modify the nonfree software, we aren’t allowed to share these improvements with others to help them upgrade or repair their appliance as well.
If a device has proprietary software, you don’t own it, no matter how vast the sum of money you paid for your new or used iPhone, Xbox, Amazon Kindle, or car. With proprietary software, the manufacturer dictates how, where, and for how long you may use it. This is why we insist that free software is an ethical imperative and why the Free Software Foundation (FSF) targets nonfree software first and foremost — because it’s the root cause of unrepairability and many other serious issues in today’s digital culture.
A very unfortunate and recent example of a serious infringement on the right to repair is the Windows 10 “cliff”: Microsoft will stop support for Windows 10 in October 2025, and will leave thousands, if not millions, of people and organizations at a loss for how to continue with their computing post-Windows 10. Instead of offering its users a way to continue with their existing computer, Microsoft is pushing Windows 10 users to trash their existing device and buy a Copilot Plus PC. This manufactured disaster has many facets, one of which is the issue of Digital Restriction Management (DRM), which we targeted during the 2024 International Day against DRM (IDAD).
We call on you to help Windows 10 users to upgrade to GNU/Linux instead of trashing their computers! To find users and organizations in your area who need help with upgrading, or if you yourself are looking for help with switching to GNU/Linux, check out the LibrePlanet wiki.
The Windows 10 cliff is but another reminder that if you really want to own a device, you need to make sure it runs free software, ideally on hardware that respects your freedom. You may find that it’s getting harder and harder to come by fully free hardware. This is why it’s more important than ever that we advocate for it.
The FSF stands firmly behind the Right to Repair movement. The right to modify software (or repair a device) is one of the four freedoms the free software community has been fighting for for forty years. If we imagine software freedom as a building, then the right to repair is one pillar holding up the roof. From the perspective of the free software movement, it needs then to be accompanied by the right to run, study, and share the software, or else the structure will crumble. It is the FSF’s mission to ensure that software freedom is supported and protected forever.
We stand in solidarity with the Right to Repair movement, those fighting for the environment, and all the initiatives working towards a better future. Together with thousands of free software supporters like you, we rise up against proprietary injustices for the vision of a free world that includes, but ultimately goes beyond, the right to repair. Spread the word about the crucial need for the right to repair the technology we depend on by sharing our Fight to Repair video on Peertube.
Thank you for standing up for software freedom!
“Right to Repair,” uses the icon “Maintenance” © 2021, Kocqs. “Right to Repair” © 2025 is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 by the Free Software Foundation.
“Fight to Repair video” © 2025 is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 by the Free Software Foundation.
Banner Image: Right to Repair graphic. Image Credit – FSF
Free Software Foundation
The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is a nonprofit with a worldwide mission to promote computer user freedom. We defend the rights of all software users. Read this page in Spanish or in Italian. As our society grows more dependent on computers, the software we run is of critical importance to securing the future of a free society. Free software is about having control over the technology we use in our homes, schools and businesses, where computers work for our individual and communal benefit, not for proprietary software companies or governments who might seek to restrict and monitor us. The Free Software Foundation exclusively uses free software to perform its work. The Free Software Foundation is working to secure freedom for computer users by promoting the development and use of free (as in freedom) software and documentation—particularly the GNU operating system—and by campaigning against threats to computer user freedom like Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) and software patents.
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