Alissa Centivany grew up in and around Detroit in a family of artists and DIYers – people who were comfortable using their hands and fixing things that broke.  

That spirit stayed with her as she built her academic career. Today, she is a professor in Western’s Faculty of Information and Media Studies (FIMS), focusing her research on technology and related policy, law and ethics.  

And that fix-it mindset took on new meaning for her when she learned about the challenge farmers face in repairing machinery.  

“They have a history of tinkering with their tractors. But all of a sudden, you have manufacturers telling them they can't do the repairs. So when a tractor breaks down, they have to call the manufacturer and wait for a technician to insert a USB drive into their tractor to unlock something that will let them diagnose and fix it. It’s inefficient and fundamentally unfair.”

That realization inspired Centivany to devote her research to what has essentially become a global movement called Right to Repair.  

“It’s about extending the useful life of the things we already have and empowering people to be able to fix things when they break.”

As Centivany explains, “the Right to Repair cuts across all industries and sectors and impacts things like our personal electronic equipment, home appliances and cars.”

She notes there is a multitude of ways manufacturers impede us from being able to repair technology ourselves. For example, they’ll put code into devices that prevents you from trying to fix them yourself.

“It can also be the case that manufacturers won't allow access to repair parts and tools to third parties. So they lock down the material resources and informational resources, like manuals, and make them unavailable.”

Centivany says manufacturers do this to control the repair market and make money. It used to be that manufacturers made a product, and maybe they sold it, and that was the end of the relationship with the customer, unless the customer decided to purchase from them again. But now manufacturers have gotten good at using sophisticated tactics to maintain that relationship, whether consumers want it or not. Consumers are locked in, so they have to continue dealing with manufacturers.

Centivany says we, as consumers, can do something about these restrictions by pausing when new technology is put on the market – don’t buy the latest smart tech, which will inevitably be harder to fix when it breaks.  

But she feels real change in ensuring our right to repair will really come through collective action.  

“These are problems that operate at a higher systemic level and must be addressed at those levels. Get involved politically. This issue is on the radar at the federal and provincial levels of government, so it’s hugely important that politicians hear from their constituents.”

Besides, she says, fixing things is in our nature.  

“Breakdown is normal. But what isn't normal is being unable to fix things. The desire to fix things, to make improvements, I think is a fundamental part of being human. We need to be able to do that.”  

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