by Dan Moren
Newest right to repair objectors: Scientologists?
Fascinating piece from Scharon Harding at Ars Technica about the latest organization objecting to right to repair legislation—a movement that Apple just last month changed its stance on, and has now come out in support of:
Today, 404 Media reported on a letter sent on August 10 to the US Copyright Office by Ryland Hawkins of Author Services Inc. The company, its website and letterhead say, represents the “literary, theatrical, and musical works of L. Ron Hubbard, the late founder of Scientology. Author Services, according to records archived via the WayBackMachine, is owned by the Church of Spiritual Technology, which describes itself as a church within Scientology.
[…]
The Scientology-tied group seeks an amendment to the exemption so that it doesn’t apply to software-powered devices that can only be purchased by someone with particular qualifications or training or that use software “governed by a license agreement negotiated and executed” before purchase.
Why would Scientologists object to right to repair? Those familiar with the organization might also be aware of the “E-meter”, a device that Scientologists claim can read people’s emotional state, which is used in “audits” of its members.1
The right to repair law could open up a door for people to disassemble E-meters and publish their findings showing what most critics already believe: that they don’t do anything at all. More to the point, law would potentially protect the people doing that disassembly by not letting Scientology hide behind the idea of proprietary technology.
- And also as a ploy to try and draw in new members. I remember seeing Scientologists offering free readings in BART stations in San Francisco. ↩