FTC Urged To Stop Tech Makers Downgrading Devices After You've Bought Them

Digital rights activists want device manufacturers to disclose a 'guaranteed minimum support time' for devices — and federal regulations ensuring a product's core functionality will work even after its software updates stop.

Influential groups including Consumer Reports, EFF, the Software Freedom Conservancy, iFixit, and U.S. Pirg have now signed a letter to the head of America's Consumer Protection bureau (at the Federal Trade Commision), reports The Register:

In an eight-page letter to the Commission (FTC), the activists mentioned the Google/Levis collaboration on a denim jacket that contained sensors enabling it to control an Android device through a special app. When the app was discontinued in 2023, the jacket lost that functionality. The letter also mentions the 'Car Thing,' an automotive infotainment device created by Spotify, which bricked the device fewer than two years after launch and didn't offer a refund...

Environmental groups and computer repair shops also signed the letter... 'Consumers need a clear standard for what to expect when purchasing a connected device,' stated Justin Brookman, director of technology policy at Consumer Reports and a former policy director of the FTC's Office of Technology, Research, and Investigation. 'Too often, consumers are left with devices that stop functioning because companies decide to end support without little to no warning. This leaves people stranded with devices they once relied on, unable to access features or updates....'

Brookman told The Register that he believes this is the first such policy request to the FTC that asks the agency to help consumers with this dilemma. 'I'm not aware of a previous effort from public interest groups to get the FTC to take action on this issue — it's still a relatively new issue with no clear established norms,' he wrote in an email. 'But it has certainly become an issue' that comes up more and more with device makers as they change their rules about product updates and usage.
'Both switching features to a subscription and 'bricking' a connected device purchased by a consumer in many cases are unfair and deceptive practices,' the groups write, arguing that the practices 'infringe on a consumer's right to own the products they buy.' They're requesting clear 'guidance' for manufacturers from the U.S. government.

The FTC has a number of tools at its disposal to help establish standards for IoT device support. While a formal rulemaking is one possibility, the FTC also has the ability to issue more informal guidance, such as its Endorsement Guides12 and Dot Com Disclosures.13 We believe the agency should set norms...

The groups are also urging the FTC to:

Encourage tools and methods that enable reuse if software support ends.
Conduct an educational program to encourage manufacturers to build longevity into the design of their products.
Protect 'adversarial interoperability'... when a competitor or third-party creates a reuse or modification tool [that] adds to or converts the old device.
Thanks to long-time Slashdot reader Z00L00K for sharing the article.

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