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 prior right to repair legislation, who have highlighted the impact repair restrictions have on repair shops that are independent and owned by entrepreneurs from underserved communities. Repair restrictions for some products—such as smartphones—also may place a greater financial burden on communities of color and lower-income Americans. According to Pew Research, Blackblack [sic] and Hispanic Americans are about twice as likely as white Americans to have smartphones, but no broadband access at home. Similarly, lower-income Americans are more likely to be smartphone-dependent. This smartphone dependency makes repair restrictions on smartphones more likely to affect these communities adversely.

The pandemic has exacerbated the effects of repair restrictions on consumers. As noted by Pew Research, “The pandemic has made living without a computer harder than ever. Employees are working remotely, kids are going to school via laptop, and grandparents are visiting with their grandkids on screens. At the same time, the pandemic has made it harder to get broken devices fixed, as many big chain stores have ceased offering on-site repairs. As a result, people have been forced to send their devices to authorized repair facilities—often waiting weeks for them to be returned.”

The pandemic also has revealed a drastic shortage in the availability of new laptops for students. An Associated Press examination of the availability of school laptops found that the