FTC Investigating John Deere Over ‘Right To Repair’ Violations

A few years ago agricultural equipment giant John Deere found itself on the receiving end of an antitrust lawsuit for its efforts to monopolize tractor repair. The lawsuits noted that the company consistently purchased competing repair centers in order to consolidate the sector and force customers into using the company’s own repair facilities, driving up costs and logistical hurdles dramatically for farmers.

John Deere executives have repeatedly promised to do better, then just ignored those promises.

Earlier this year John Deere found itself under fire once again, this time by Senator Elizabeth Warren, who sent a letter to the company noting that company is violating The Clean Air Act by failing to inform users in tractor manuals of cheaper repair options. Now comes word that the FTC is investigating whether the company’s efforts to monopolize repair have violated the FTC Act:

“The investigation, authorized on Sept. 2, 2021, focuses on repair restrictions manufacturers place on hardware or software, often referred to by regulators as impeding customers’ “right to repair” the goods they purchase. The probe was made public through a filing by data analytics company Hargrove & Associates Inc, which sought to quash an FTC subpoena seeking market data submitted to it by members of the Association of Equipment Manufacturers.”

If the FTC takes action, hopefully it’s more comprehensive than some of the earlier antitrust busting efforts during Lina Khan’s tenure.

In addition to intentionally acquiring repair alternatives to monopolize repair and drive up consumer costs, John Deere also routinely makes repair difficult and costly through the act of software locks, obnoxious DRM, and “parts pairing” — which involves only allowing the installation of company-certified replacement parts — or mandatory collections of company-blessed components.

More recently, the company has been striking meaningless “memorandums of understanding” with key trade groups, pinky swearing to stop their bad behavior if the groups agree to not support state or federal right to repair legislation.

Last March, Oregon became the seventh U.S. state to pass “right to repair” legislation making it easier, cheaper, and more convenient to repair technology you own. The bill’s passage came on the heels of legislation passed in Massachusetts (in 2012 and 2020), Colorado (in 2022 and 2023), New York (2023), Minnesota, Maine and California. All told, 30 states are considering such bills in 2024.

While the new laws are promising progress for right to repair activism, in most instances companies in those states are just ignoring the laws with no repercussions so far.