The FTC should stop tech companies from bricking their products, consumer groups say

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge

A coalition of consumer protection and anti-waste groups wants the Federal Trade Commission to go after “software tethering,” or the practice of tying hardware’s functionality to external software — which often renders products unusable after software updates stop.

The groups, including Consumer Reports, iFixIt, US PIRG, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Center for Economic Justice, and Californians Against Waste, have signed onto a letter asking the FTC to “create clear guidance” on software tethering. “While the FTC has taken some limited actions with regard to this issue, a lack of clarity and enforcement has led to an ecosystem where consumers cannot reliably count on the connected products they buy to last,” the letter reads.

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