歐盟成員國(guó)在上周圍繞洗碗機(jī)的效率和修理進(jìn)行了投票。如果這聽起來有點(diǎn)與洗碗水一樣無聊的話，那么請(qǐng)回憶一下自家洗碗機(jī)上一次是什么時(shí)候壞的。在對(duì)應(yīng)的法規(guī)出臺(tái)之后，洗碗機(jī)修理將成為一件十分容易、便宜的事情。然而，人們不能自行拆卸機(jī)器，因?yàn)榇伺e會(huì)導(dǎo)致保修的失效。因此，人們只能購(gòu)買新的型號(hào)，然后扔掉舊機(jī)器。

盡管這對(duì)制造商來說是個(gè)好消息，但卻逐漸成為了令消費(fèi)者頭疼的問題。英國(guó)廣播公司稱，歐盟和美國(guó)至少18個(gè)州的監(jiān)管當(dāng)局將開始聽取和考慮一系列相關(guān)議案，以期通過提升家電的耐用度和修理便利度，解決計(jì)劃報(bào)廢的影響。

上周的洗碗機(jī)投票只不過是修訂《2009年生態(tài)設(shè)計(jì)指令》的部分舉措。該法令的內(nèi)容包羅萬象，從歐盟內(nèi)銷售的真空吸塵器的能耗，到家用電器和電子產(chǎn)品的回收率等，無所不包。總的來說，歐盟將審視各類物品的制造法規(guī)，從照明和電視一直到大型家電，例如洗衣機(jī)和冰箱。

與此同時(shí)，維權(quán)人士已經(jīng)在美國(guó)提出了法案草案，旨在讓消費(fèi)者在修理和維護(hù)其財(cái)產(chǎn)方面獲得更大的話語權(quán)。美國(guó)國(guó)會(huì)圖書館在2015年裁決，農(nóng)民在必要的情況下可在修理拖拉機(jī)等設(shè)備時(shí)對(duì)軟件進(jìn)行修改，而這一裁決引發(fā)了拖拉機(jī)制造商約翰迪爾公司的反對(duì)，以及多個(gè)農(nóng)業(yè)州的法律大戰(zhàn)。

在所謂的修理權(quán)運(yùn)動(dòng)中，包括《消費(fèi)者報(bào)告》雜志和iFixit網(wǎng)站在內(nèi)的機(jī)構(gòu)一直在推廣迫使制造商做出讓步的相關(guān)標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，從而讓消費(fèi)者或獨(dú)立修理店對(duì)其產(chǎn)品的維修將變得合理合法。《消費(fèi)者報(bào)告》雜志今年早些時(shí)候稱，事實(shí)上，為了讓當(dāng)?shù)仄嚈C(jī)修廠獲得日漸增多的電動(dòng)汽車的維修權(quán)，當(dāng)局同樣施加了壓力。

這是因?yàn)橹圃焐谈Ｍ軌虮M可能長(zhǎng)久地掌握對(duì)產(chǎn)品的控制權(quán)。例如，歐洲協(xié)會(huì)Digital Europe向英國(guó)廣播公司透露，“法規(guī)草案限制了市場(chǎng)準(zhǔn)入，偏離了國(guó)際公認(rèn)的最佳實(shí)踐，而且不利于知識(shí)產(chǎn)權(quán)保護(hù)?！?/p>

維修協(xié)會(huì)的蓋伊·戈登·伯恩對(duì)《消費(fèi)者報(bào)告》雜志說：“他們正在與客戶進(jìn)行斗爭(zhēng)，但我并不認(rèn)為這是一個(gè)能夠致勝的策略?！保ㄘ?cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

譯者：馮豐

審校：夏林

European Union member states have voted on dishwasher efficiency and repair at last week. If that sounds as dull as, well, dishwater, then you need to consider the last time your own dishwasher broke. With the right rules in place, it would be a cheap and easy fix. However, you’re not allowed to fiddle with the machine because it would invalidate the warranty. So, instead, you go and buy a new model and throw the old one on the dump.

While that’s good for manufacturers, it is increasingly becoming a problem for consumers. In the EU and at least 18 U.S. states, regulators are starting to listen and considering proposals that address the impact of planned obsolescence by making household goods sturdier and easier to mend, reports the BBC.

Last week’s dishwasher vote was just one of a series revising the 2009 Ecodesign Directive, which governs everything from how much energy a vacuum cleaner sold in the EU can use to how many household appliances and electronics are recycled. Put together, the EU is looking at the manufacturing rules surrounding everything from lighting to televisions and large home appliances, such as washing machines and fridges.

At the same time, activists have introduced draft laws in the U.S. that seek to give consumers more control over how they repair and maintain their property. The U.S. Library of Congress ruled in 2015 that farmers could modify software if necessary to repair devices such as tractors, prompting a backlash from tractor manufacturer John Deere and legislative battles in several farming states.

Consumer Reports (CR) and iFixit, among others in the so-called right to repair movement, have promoted standards that would force manufacturers to make it legal and practical for consumers, or independent repair shops, to get under the hood of their devices. In fact, it took such pressure to enable local car mechanics to get under the hood of increasingly electronic cars, CR reported earlier this year.

That’s because manufacturers prefer to keep control over their products as long as possible. For example, Digital Europe told the BBC that Europe’s “draft regulations limit market access, deviate from internationally-recognized best practices and compromise intellectual property.”

Gay Gordon-Byrne of the The Repair Association added to CR: “They’re fighting their customers. I don’t think that’s a winning strategy.”