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Right to Repair advocates believe consumers should be able to repair things they purchased, either themselves or at the repair shop they choose.

It’s infamously been an issue with Apple, but a yearslong battle with agricultural equipment manufacturer John Deere.

John Deere…

… is an agricultural heavy hitter, holding 53% of the tractor market in the US. But for years, farmers have anguished over getting their machines repaired.

• Deere forces farmers to go to dealerships by restricting access to tools and documentation, and employing software locks only dealers can disable.
• They charge up to $150/hour, and one farmer told NPR that repairs can take weeks.

Then came a lawsuit

In early 2022, a North Dakota farm filed a class-action lawsuit accusing John Deere of violating antitrust laws, and reaping profits while harming farmers.

• Company filings show Deere’s repair business is 3x-6x more profitable than equipment sales, per Bloomberg.
• In 2020, Deere told investors that parts and maintenance services made up ~20% of sales.

Now, the Department of Justice has weighed in on the lawsuit, offering a statement of interest siding with the farmers, per AgWeb.

The DOJ said:

• It doesn’t buy Deere’s assertion that a competitive tractor market equals a competitive repair market, citing a 1992 Supreme Court ruling against Kodak’s attempt to restrict copy machine repairs.
• Many farms have gone bankrupt since 2014, and Deere’s practices increase financial pressures on farmers.

The court will make the final decision, but statements of interest can have an impact, per Vice.

Meanwhile…

… John Deere signed an agreement with lobbying group the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) promising to allow third-party repairs last month.

Deere noted it might withdraw from the agreement if state or federal legislation passed, which some critics viewed as an attempt to prevent it, per NPR.

But it’s already happening: Colorado is considering a law that would fine companies $20k per violation, and similar bills have been introduced in Congress.

In China, livestream shopping — when influencers sell goods through streaming platforms — is a huge business:

• The industry had an estimated market size of $500B in 2022.
• In just half an hour during China’s 2020 Singles’ Day shopping festival, livestream platform Taobao processed $7.5B in transactions. During the 2021 event, one social media personality (Viya) single-handedly pushed $1B worth of product.
• There are literally boot camps to train for a career in the field.

In the United States, however, chances are you’ve never watched such a livestream, according to data obtained by CNBC.

Now, it appears, those chances may shrink further with Instagram announcing plans to shut down its live shopping feature.

The move underlines some struggles livestream shopping has faced in Western markets. Beyond Instagram, Meta dropped live shopping from Facebook in October, and TikTok’s live shopping tests have reportedly seen mixed results.

Still, while the West has yet to replicate China’s success — with TikTok, Amazon, and YouTube’s continued investment in the space, and live shopping startups like Whatnot raising $485m — the industry may just need some time.

BTW: Viya was also fined $210m for tax evasion.

If you’ve ever used an app to access mental health care, your personal data could be up for grabs.

A new study from Duke University outlines a shadowy industry built on buying and selling patients’ personal medical data.

Researchers contacted 37 data brokers — companies that collect and sell personal information — and asked for bulk datasets on mental health. Eleven of the brokers agreed.

The data included:

• Information that identified health issues (e.g., depression, anxiety, ADHD)
• Demographic information (e.g., age, race, net worth, ZIP code)
• Details on other ailments (e.g., Alzheimer’s disease, urinary incontinence)

The brokers’ prices ranged from $275 for 5k aggregated mental health records, to $100k/yr. for a data licensing subscription.

Is this legal?

Yup. HIPAA, the law that restricts how doctors and hospitals share Americans’ health data, doesn’t protect health information held elsewhere.

That means apps have free range for distributing user data. And they do:

• A 2021 Consumer Reports investigation found that mental health apps shared user data with advertising companies, including Facebook.

Congress has yet to pass regulatory legislation and data brokers spend millions on lobbying efforts.

But health data in the wrong hands can have serious consequences:

• Health insurance companies use data brokers to raise rates.
• Federal law enforcement officers employ data to pursue undocumented immigrants.
• Since Roe v. Wade has been overturned, the buying and selling of health data could endanger those seeking safe abortions.