• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

The millennial generation has split, new Fed research shows: Those over 35 are edging toward boomer-style wealth, while everyone else falls behind

2

Spain lifted the World Cup, but the IRS still gets a cut of its $50 million pay day as players, coaches and refs all face complex U.S. “jock taxes”

3

The $39 trillion U.S. national debt isn’t as high as Japan’s and Singapore’s relative to economy size—and yet it's still worse somehow

1

The millennial generation has split, new Fed research shows: Those over 35 are edging toward boomer-style wealth, while everyone else falls behind

2

Spain lifted the World Cup, but the IRS still gets a cut of its $50 million pay day as players, coaches and refs all face complex U.S. “jock taxes”

3

The $39 trillion U.S. national debt isn’t as high as Japan’s and Singapore’s relative to economy size—and yet it's still worse somehow
TechWorld's Most Admired Companies

Apple Reportedly Fighting Bills That Would Simplify iPhone Repair

By
Don Reisinger
Don Reisinger
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Don Reisinger
Don Reisinger
Down Arrow Button Icon
March 10, 2017, 10:50 AM ET
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Apple is reportedly lobbying against a bill that could make it easier, and perhaps even cheaper, to fix smartphones.

Nebraska legislators on Thursday afternoon pondered a “right to repair” bill that would force electronics manufacturers to provide manuals and diagnostic tools to third-parties that would fix damaged or broken devices, according to BuzzFeed News. In an interview with BuzzFeed News, however, the bill’s sponsor, State Senator Lydia Brasch said that Apple is actively lobbying Nebraska lawmakers and others around the U.S. to thwart the measure.

Brasch said that she met with an Apple (AAPL) representative, who feared that the bill’s passing would turn Nebraska into a “Mecca for bad actors.” The Apple representative added, however, that if she dropped smartphones from the bill, Apple wouldn’t stand in its way.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter

Several states—including New York, Illinois, and Massachusetts—have floated similar legislation. The laws, if passed, are aimed at forcing product manufacturers to make it easier for consumers to find third-party repair shops and get their products fixed effectively and, in some cases, at a lower cost.

The bills have been met with concerns from product manufacturers who worry that offering up product manuals and diagnostic tools could expose critical trade secrets and ultimately put their businesses at risk. They also fear that consumers will get unsafe components.

In the conversation with Brasch, the Apple representative reportedly said Apple was concerned about hackers who might take advantage of the additional access to its products.

Apple, like many other prominent product manufacturers, generates significant revenue each year on device repairs and especially smartphone repairs. If Apple is forced to hand over special tools that would allow third-party companies to fix its devices, it could stand to lose at least some of that revenue. Apple does, however, work with authorized service partners that it allows to fix its devices.

“Some of us believe that this practice is monopolistic,” New York State Senator Phil Boyle told BuzzFeed News. “If I buy a computer, they are almost requiring me to go back to the facility to get it fixed at an inflated rate.”

Boyle added that he introduced right to repair legislation in New York in 2014. Tech companies, including Apple, ultimately lobbied against the bil,l and it never went to a vote. Other efforts to expand right to repair to electronics makers have similarly been flat-lined in states across the United States.

The Nebraska bill seems to have met the same fate. On Thursday, the Nebraska Judiciary Committee decided to shelve the right to repair bill until at least next year.

Apple did not immediately respond to a Fortune request for comment.

About the Author
By Don Reisinger
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • TikTok icon
  • YouTube icon

Latest in Tech

European travel platform Omio raises $10 million and buys Rail Europe as it chases Asia’s tourism market 
Asiatourism
European travel platform Omio raises $10 million and buys Rail Europe as it chases Asia’s tourism market 
By Nicholas GordonJuly 24, 2026
2 hours ago
Meet SLB: The $70 billion oil services giant poised to cash in on AI data centers and the post-Strait of Hormuz oil exploration boom
Magazineoil and gas
Meet SLB: The $70 billion oil services giant poised to cash in on AI data centers and the post-Strait of Hormuz oil exploration boom
By Jordan BlumJuly 24, 2026
2 hours ago
tokens
AIAI agents
‘You just hired a million bad employees’: How the brief tokenmaxxing era delivered the opposite of what it promised
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 24, 2026
2 hours ago
AMD’s Lisa Su defends open-source AI following Hugging Face security breach caused by OpenAI agents
AIAdvanced Micro Devices
AMD’s Lisa Su defends open-source AI following Hugging Face security breach caused by OpenAI agents
By Sebastian HerreraJuly 23, 2026
9 hours ago
Alphabet Inc. and Google CEO Sundar Pichai speaks during the inauguration of a Google Artificial Intelligence (AI) hub in Paris on February 15, 2024. (
Big TechWall Street
AI is forcing Big Tech to do something it’s never done: Spend more than it earns, and Wall Street hates it
By Eva RoytburgJuly 23, 2026
10 hours ago
Innovaccer's founders sit in chairs on a stage
AIData
Innovaccer’s CEO walked away from Disney and NASA to fix healthcare’s data mess. Now the startup has crossed $200 million in ARR
By Lily Mae LazarusJuly 23, 2026
11 hours ago

Most Popular

The millennial generation has split, new Fed research shows: Those over 35 are edging toward boomer-style wealth, while everyone else falls behind
Real Estate
The millennial generation has split, new Fed research shows: Those over 35 are edging toward boomer-style wealth, while everyone else falls behind
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 22, 2026
2 days ago
Spain lifted the World Cup, but the IRS still gets a cut of its $50 million pay day as players, coaches and refs all face complex U.S. “jock taxes”
Personal Finance
Spain lifted the World Cup, but the IRS still gets a cut of its $50 million pay day as players, coaches and refs all face complex U.S. “jock taxes”
By Joshua HongJuly 23, 2026
1 day ago
The $39 trillion U.S. national debt isn’t as high as Japan’s and Singapore’s relative to economy size—and yet it's still worse somehow
Economy
The $39 trillion U.S. national debt isn’t as high as Japan’s and Singapore’s relative to economy size—and yet it's still worse somehow
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 23, 2026
17 hours ago
Current price of oil as of July 23, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of July 23, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 23, 2026
22 hours ago
Scott Bessent casually says the U.S. has more than $1 trillion in gold—and that it doesn’t matter for the dollar
Economy
Scott Bessent casually says the U.S. has more than $1 trillion in gold—and that it doesn’t matter for the dollar
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 22, 2026
2 days ago
Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock
Success
Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 20, 2026
4 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.