Electronics-Repair State Bills May Put Consumers at Risk, CompTIA Says

CompTIA raised privacy and security concerns about bills in Massachusetts, Tennessee and other states that would require electronics manufacturers to share information about hardware to product owners and repair shops. Massachusetts SB-96, in the Joint Consumer Protection Committee, would require manufacturers to “make available to independent repair facilities or owners of products manufactured by the manufacturer the same diagnostic and repair information, including repair technical updates, diagnostic software, service access passwords, updates and corrections to firmware, and related documentation, free of charge and in the same manner the manufacturer makes available to its authorized repair providers.” That could make consumers vulnerable to hacking, CompTIA said in a Tuesday news release. “The last thing a person wants is for a bad actor to get access to their personal information because a family, friend or co-worker compromised their devices by allowing an unauthorized repair shop to tinker,” said Liz Hyman, executive vice president-policy advocacy.