The FTC’s First Action: John Deere’s Software and Repair Aversion is the Right Way to Go, says Kyle Wiens
As tractors and combines have gotten more computerized, farmers have complained that Deere has restricted access to its software and made it difficult, or nearly impossible, for owners to diagnose and fix problems themselves or with the help of independent mechanics. Instead, farmers have to use authorized dealers, who tend to charge more and may take longer.
They wrote that the FTC didn’t have enough evidence to be confident of success in litigation, and that they were in active negotiations to get a settlement with Deere.
Ferguson and Holyoak made procedural arguments against the lawsuit but they welcomed the FTC taking up the cause of the farmer. They said the timing, right before Trump’s inauguration, lends the case “the stench of partisan motivation.”
The lawsuit accuses Deere of not giving access to its technology and keeping a monopoly power over repairs. Deere also reaps additional profits from selling parts, the complaint alleges, as authorized dealers tend to sell pricey Deere-branded parts for their repairs rather than generic alternatives.
The chair of the FTC stated that farmers rely on their agricultural equipment to earn a living and feed their families. Farmers can face delays due to unfair repair restrictions.
The Federal Trade Commission has joined with states such as Illinois and Minnesota in a battle over the right of farmers to repair their own equipment.
The other difficulty is that US copyright protections prevent anyone but John Deere from making software that counteracts the restrictions the company has put on its platform. Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 makes it so people can’t legally counteract technological measures that fall under its protections. John Deere’s equipment falls under that copyright policy.
“This has to be the thing that does it,” Wiens says. “The FTC is not going to settle until John Deere makes the software available. This is the right way to go.
Kyle Wiens is the CEO of the repair advocacy retailer iFixit and an occasional WIRED contributor who first wrote about John Deere’s repair-averse tactics in 2015. He noted that when farmers try to fix something that is malfunctioning, they run into Deere’s policy.
