FTC Finally Sues John Deere Over Years Of ‘Right To Repair’ Abuses
A few years ago agricultural equipment giant John Deere found itselfon the receiving end of an antitrust lawsuitfor its efforts to monopolize tractor repair. The lawsuits noted that the company consistently purchased competing repair centers in order to consolidate the sector and force customers into using the company's own repair facilities, driving up costs and logistical hurdles dramatically for farmers.
John Deere executives have repeatedly promised to do better, then justignored those promises.
Now the company is on the receiving end of a belated FTC lawsuit over its effort to monopolize repair, something outgoing FTC boss Lina Khan says made operations much more difficult and expensive for farmers the world over:
Illegal repair restrictions can be devastating for farmers, who rely on affordable and timely repairs to harvest their crops and earn their income," said FTC Chair Lina M. Khan. The FTC's action today seeks to ensure that farmers across America are free to repair their own equipment or use repair shops of their choice-lowering costs, preventing ruinous delays, and promoting fair competition for independent repair shops."
The FTC lawsuit was filed in conjunction with the states of Illinois and Minnesota.
In addition to intentionally acquiring repair alternatives to monopolize repair and drive up consumer costs, John Deere also routinely makes repair difficult and costly through the act of software locks, obnoxious DRM restrictions, and parts pairing" - which involves only allowing the installation of company-certified replacement parts - or mandatory collections of company-blessed components.
More recently, the company has been strikingmeaningless memorandums of understanding"with key trade groups, pinky swearing to stop their bad behavior if the groups agree to not support state or federal right to repair legislation. Several such groups backed off their criticism, only to have John Deere continue its monopolistic behavior, the FTC's complaint notes.
Several class action antitrust suits and ample warning from the FTC wasn't enough to deter John Deere. The FTC's suit comes as Lina Khan heads out the door, and it's more than possible that Trump 2.0 - keen on taking a hatchet to what's left of U,S, corporate oversight and consumer protection - either kills or undermines FTC legal efforts to finally hold John Deere accountable. You know, for populism."