Re: Limiting choice is anticompetitive
> There is NO reason governments should allow this.
But who elects the governments?
These days, ordinary people have little say in the matter. The candidates are put forward along party interests. Lords, Representatives and Senators get their seats through service to Business, not the common people, and even individual votes are easily manipulated for the highest bidder by Google, Facebook and TikTok..
There was a great documentary a couple of days ago by BBC storyville of how AI is being used for evil, although it was a bit too slow and heavy on the arty cinematics, could have been 60 mins instead of 90. I would have preferred that they spent the extra half hour going into more technical detail. But it was a good prequel to The Matrix or Deus Ex..
I think the real reason that Right to Repair does not exist is because the big corps want to use "your" devices for surveiling and manipulating you. Ok perhaps not so much for ice cream machines and tractors, but phones doorbell cameras, cars, telescreens, PCs, anything that refuses to work without regular OTA updates could one day be used against you.
A right to repair would imply a right to reveal and remove hidden antifeatures.