FTC investigating John Deere over right to repair [Video]

By Ryan Hanrahan

Reuters’ Jody Godoy reported at the end of this past week that “the U.S. Federal Trade Commission is probing farm equipment maker Deere over the company’s repair policies, according to a filing made public on Thursday. 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,” Godoy reported. “…The FTC is probing whether Deere violated the Federal Trade Act’s section 5, according to the filing. The law prohibits unfair or deceptive practices affecting commerce, and the FTC has recently used it in a broad array of cases, including against Amazon and pharmacy benefit managers.”

Agri-Pulse’s …