Access to Motor Vehicle Software and Data
This report focuses on the repair of motor vehicles. As the complexity of motor vehicles has increased, conflict among manufacturers, repair service providers, and replacement part retailers regarding control over the repair process has also grown. A central issue of the motor vehicle debate is the extent to which third parties, such as independent repair shops, need to directly access motor vehicles’ software and data in order to repair them. Vehicle manufacturers claim that providing access could harm consumers by potentially lowering the quality of repair services and increasing risks to cybersecurity and passenger safety. Vehicle manufacturers also claim that third parties accessing vehicle software without obtaining prior authorization would violate the manufacturers’ intellectual property rights. The White House, several executive branch agencies, consumer advocacy groups, and repair service providers contend that manufacturers’ restrictions on accessing embedded software and/or data can lead to higher prices for consumers, shorter product life cycles, and greater environmental waste. As an example of the relationships between federal and state government agencies’ jurisdictions and policy considerations in the right-to-repair debate, this report discusses how the debate applies to the motor vehicle industry. This report describes technological developments in the motor vehicle industry, the post-sales segment of the motor vehicle industry (i.e., repair and maintenance parts and services), and the growing role of vehicle data within this sector. In addition, this report explains how federal competition, consumer protection, and copyright laws intersect in the right-to-repair debate more generally. This report also describes the status of laws enacted in Massachusetts and Maine aimed at facilitating the right to repair and H.R. 906, the Right to Equitable and Professional Auto Industry Repair Act (REPAIR Act). Finally, this report discusses options for Congress.
- Record URL:
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Supplemental Notes:
- This report is updated periodically while the text remains available at the URL indicated above. The actual date of publication, pagination, and other features may differ from that indicated in this record.
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Corporate Authors:
Congressional Research Service
Washington, DC United States -
Authors:
- Scherer, Dana A
- Publication Date: 2024-7-19
Language
- English
Media Info
- Media Type: Digital/other
- Features: Figures; References;
- Pagination: 29p
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Automobile industry; Automobile repair shops; Data privacy; Motor vehicles; Policy, legislation and regulation; Repairing; Software
- Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Policy; Vehicles and Equipment;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01926991
- Record Type: Publication
- Report/Paper Numbers: R48131
- Files: TRIS
- Created Date: Aug 12 2024 3:05PM