Motherboard:
The acquisition means that Allstate has become one of the most powerful proponents of right to repair legislation in the United States. According to Gay Gordon-Byrne, executive director of Repair.org, which is pushing for the legislation, the company has already loaned a lobbyist to the effort in New Hampshire.
This is potentially big news for the right to repair movement, which is trying to get laws passed in 15 states this year that would make it easier for independent repair professionals to get repair tools and parts for consumer electronics.
This will pit Allstate against Apple soon enough.
People already have the right to repair their own devices. What “right to repair” people are asking for isn’t the right to repair, they’re asking to force companies to provide access to all the components and materials required to perform a repair, even if the companies don’t typically provide access or refuse to provide access. That’s not asking for the right to repair, that’s asking to take away companies’ rights to refuse, and I’m pretty sure SCOTUS already ruled against that.