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 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC” or “Commission”) submits this report pursuant to Congress’s directive for the Commission to report to the Committees on Appropriations of the House and Senate regarding anticompetitive practices related to repair markets. When directing the Commission to issue this report, Congress noted that it “is aware of the FTC’s ongoing review of how manufacturers—in particular mobile phone and car manufacturers—may limit repairs by consumers and repair shops, and how those limitations may increase costs, limit choice, and impact consumers’ rights under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.” Congress specifically directed the FTC to include recommendations on how to best address these problems.

To fulfill this Congressional directive, the Commission has synthesized the knowledge gained from its July 16, 2019 workshop titled “Nixing the Fix: A Workshop on Repair Restrictions” (the “Workshop”), public comments, responses to a Request for Empirical Research and Data, and independent research. This report examines consumer protection and antitrust issues relating to repair restrictions, with particular emphasis on those imposed by mobile phone and car manufacturers.

Congressional interest in the competition and consumer protection aspects of repair restrictions is timely. Many consumer products have become harder to fix and maintain. Repairs today often require specialized tools, difficult-to-obtain parts, and access to proprietary diagnostic software. Consumers whose products break then have limited choices.

Furthermore, the burden of repair restrictions may fall more heavily on communities of color and lower-income communities. Many Blackblack [sic]-owned small businesses are in the repair and maintenance industries, and difficulties facing small businesses can disproportionately affect small businesses owned by people of color. This fact has not been lost on supporters of