Fight For Your Right to Repair Your Car

1201 car action sm

What does copyright have to do with car repair? As ridiculous as it sounds, sections of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act could actually prevent car owners from looking under the hood—or even protecting themselves from vulnerabilities and malware. But there's something you can do.

November 13, 2024
To the Copyright Office and the Librarian of Congress:

I support EFF's petitions for vehicle repair and research exemptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's anti-circumvention provision. Nobody should need to hire a copyright lawyer before fixing their car.

Signed
Your Name

Modern cars come with dozens of onboard computers that run potentially copyrighted code put there by manufacturers. You or your mechanic may need access to that code for repairs and customization, and researchers need access to discover and fix software problems that threaten your safety and the security of your car. But when manufacturers add technological restrictions that keep you from even looking at that code, it may be unlawful under the DMCA to work around those restrictions.

We can clear up the dark legal cloud that hovers over car repair and research. Every three years, the Librarian of Congress and the Copyright Office can grant exemptions to these DRM rules, and EFF is fighting for exemptions that would make it clear that copyright can't stand in the way of car repair. Sign below to support our efforts to tell the Copyright Office: when it comes to car repair, let's kick the DMCA to the curb—and put owners back in the driver's seat.

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