Tech companies are trying to neuter Colorado’s landmark right-to-repair law

money behind the scenes Tech companies are trying to neuter Colorado’s landmark right-to-repair law A state bill is a glimpse of how corporations are limiting people's ability to make their own fixes and upgrades. 62 Credit: Getty Images Credit: Getty Images Text settings Story text Size Small Stand

Policy·April 5, 2026·3 min read

The Lead

Tech companies are trying to neuter Colorado’s landmark right-to-repair law. money behind the scenes Tech companies are trying to neuter Colorado’s landmark right-to-repair law A state bill is a glimpse of how corporations are limiting people's ability to make their own fixes and upgrades. 62 Credit: Getty Images Credit: Getty Images Text settings Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only Learn more Minimize to nav Right-to-repair efforts are gaining headway in the US. A lot of that movement has been led by state legislation in Colorado. Since 2022, Colorado has passed bills giving users the tools, instructions, and legal capabilities to fix or upgrade their own wheelchairs , agricultural farming equipment , and consumer electronics . Similar efforts have rippled out.

Key Details

“Colorado has the broadest repair rights in the country,” says Danny Katz, executive director CoPIRG, the Colorado branch of the consumer advocate group Pirg . “We should be proud of leading the way.” Manufacturers tend to be less supportive of right-to-repair efforts, as corporations stand to make more money charging for tools, replacement parts, and repair services than if they were to just let people fix things on their own. Some companies have begrudgingly agreed to make their products more.

Context

These are companies that have vested interests in manufacturing things like routers, server equipment, and computers and stand to profit if they can control who fixes their products and the tools, components, and software used to make those upgrades and repairs. They also cite cybersecurity concerns, saying that giving people access to the tools and systems they would need to repair a device could also enable bad actors to use those methods for nefarious means. (This is a common argument.

What's Next

The main problem, repair advocates say, is that the bill deliberately uses vague language to make the case for controlling who can fix their products. “The ‘information technology’ and ‘critical infrastructure’ thing is as cynical as you can possibly be about it,” says Nathan Proctor, the leader of Pirg’s US right-to-repair campaign. “It sounds scary to lawmakers, but it just means the internet.” Though not clearly defined in the bill, “information technology” usually means tech like servers and routers. “Critical.