Steve Wozniak, Apple’s co-founder, has passionately endorsed the right-to-repair movement, despite opposition from the company.

The movement calls for laws to ensure that users have access to information and parts necessary to fix their devices.

“We wouldn’t have an Apple if I hadn’t grown up in a very technological world,” said Mr. Wozniak, co-founder of the company with Steve Jobs in 1970.

“It’s now that we recognize the need to repair more fully.”

“Extremely Dangerous”

The existing right-to-repair laws in the US and Europe are only applicable to vehicles and appliances.

Right-to-repair advocates claim that Apple is the most vocal opponent to expanding the coverage of consumer electronics legislation.

It only allows repairs by its authorized technicians and doesn’t usually provide repair information or spare parts.

It has hired lobbyists to convince lawmakers that repairing devices could be very dangerous.

However, Mr. Wozniak (70) stated that companies inhibit [the right of repair] because it gives them power, control over everything.

In an intense nine-and-a-half-minute response to Louis Rossmann’s request for help, Mr. Wozniak offered his thoughts on Cameo. This site allows ordinary people to send short messages to celebrities and allows them to reply quickly.

He said, “This one really got to me.”

“When I started Apple, I couldn’t afford a Teletype to input or output.

They are as expensive as two cars.

He was familiar with the workings of TVs and could access schematics. So he created his own solution to turn his TV into a computer monitor for Apple I.

He said, “I didn’t have to be able to afford something that I couldn’t afford.”

“I was not restricted by anything that prevented me from building that computer and showing the world the future of personal computers will be a keyboard or a television.

“All of that came from being able to repair and modify things and tap into them myself.”

He also said that the Apple II’s success was due to an open platform, which he stated had shipped with schematics as well as designs.

He said that it was the only source for profits at Apple in its first decade.

“So why stop them?” “Why stop the self-repair group?” He asked.

“How was Apple hurt because of the openness of Apple II?”

Although Mr. Wozniak was fired by Apple in the mid-80s, said last year that he was technically still an employee and received a weekly payment of $50 (PS36) for loyalty despite not having any role in running the company.

Also Read: Google Hit With Antitrust Lawsuit Brought By 36 States and Washington, D.C.

“Creative minds”

He had a lot to say about open technology in education.

He said, “You can repair many things for a low price – but it is even more valuable to know that it was done yourself.”

He spoke of the “motivation, joy,” of young people learning how to program software and create hardware to “prove to themselves that they have a little bit of special skill in this world”. He added it was “very motivating to creative minds, believe him – that’s what I grew up with.”

In an earlier year, Mr. Rossman attempted to raise $6m to have the right to repair passed into law through a direct ballot initiative.

He has so far raised $750,000.

He has posted a video asking for direct involvement from Mr. Wozniak. He said that other interested donors were waiting to see if he was able to donate large amounts of money and that he would be the figurehead.

Apple was contacted to provide a comment.

The US President Joe Biden is expected to announce an executive order on the subject in the coming days, as European officials are also under pressure.