Cisco, IBM Back Bill to Exempt IT From Repair Law
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- Colorado's Senate Business, Labor, and Technology committee unanimously advanced SB26-090, which would exempt IT equipment used in critical infrastructure from the state's 2024 Consumer Right to Repair Digital Electronic Equipment act (effective January 2026).
- Cisco and IBM are backing the bill per lobbying disclosures, arguing cybersecurity and intellectual property concerns justify limiting who can repair enterprise gear like routers and servers.
- Nathan Proctor, who leads PIRG's US right-to-repair campaign, called the bill's framing 'as cynical as you can possibly be,' saying terms like 'critical infrastructure' and 'information technology' sound scary but 'just means the internet.'
- iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens testified that 'obscurity is not security' and argued that money—not security—is driving the bill.
- Gay Gordon-Byrne of the Repair Association told the committee the bill has at least five drafting problems, including a 'completely inadequate' definition of critical infrastructure.
- Colorado has passed the broadest repair rights in the country since 2022, covering wheelchairs, farm equipment, and consumer electronics—making it ground zero for a national fight manufacturers are waging state by state.
- The bill still needs floor votes in the Colorado Senate and House, which may happen as early as next week.
Why it matters: If SB26-090 passes, manufacturers like Cisco and IBM would effectively decide which devices stay repairable and which fall under a vaguely defined 'infrastructure' carve-out—reopening a right Colorado only locked in this January. CoPIRG and the Repair Association warn the broad language could swallow nearly any networked device, turning a consumer-protection law into a loophole that other states may replicate.
