Samsung's commitment to the right to repair has recently come under scrutiny, and the situation appears to be worse than initially thought. Reports suggest that Samsung is compelling independent repair shops to provide your personal information and report you for using aftermarket parts.
A leaked contract reveals personal data requirements
404 Media has obtained a leaked contract between Samsung and an independent service provider. According to this contract, independent repair shops must send Samsung your name, address, telephone number, phone serial number and IMEI, your “customer complaint,” and detailed repair information for every service conducted.
Moreover, the contract mandates repair shops to remove any aftermarket parts from your phone. This is despite it being legal to use third-party parts, and companies are facing penalties for suggesting otherwise.
404 Media has verified the authenticity of the contract, and I have independently reviewed a copy as well. Samsung did not respond to 404 Media's request for comment, and has not provided any statements despite being contacted over the past two hours.
Four experts told me this clause means: If you own a repair shop and a customer has previously done a repair with an aftermarket part, you must refuse to work on it, "immediately disassemble" it and then snitch to Samsung about it pic.twitter.com/TrXxsVXlZN
— Jason Koebler (@jason_koebler) May 23, 2024
Data-sharing concerns extend to official parts
The issue is not limited to independent repair shops. Samsung may also be adding you to a database every time you purchase an official replacement part. iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens confirmed that his company shared some customer information with Samsung. If you bought a genuine Samsung part from iFixit, you would have had to agree to let Samsung access your email and a list of every genuine part you purchased.
“We do not require this information for any other partnerships and do not share customer information with any other OEM,” says Wiens.
Wiens stated he could not verify if the current contract is the same one Samsung makes independent repair shops sign, as Samsung has never provided him with a copy. The contract I reviewed had the year redacted, though a source indicated it was from 2023. It is possible Samsung has already changed its contract language or will do so before July 1, when right-to-repair laws in California and Minnesota take effect.
Right-to-repair laws and their impact
Minnesota's law might prevent Samsung from enforcing such contracts, as it requires manufacturers to provide parts under “fair and reasonable terms” and bans parts registration, pairing, or approval by the manufacturer. The law also prohibits imposing substantial obligations or unnecessary costs and burdens on part-time usage.
California's law, however, is less clear about what “fair and reasonable” means. Not every repair shop is aware of its rights or willing to challenge Samsung, which controls 25% of the US smartphone market and is the leading Android provider in the United States.
Nathan Proctor, senior campaign director for right-to-repair at the US Public Interest Research Group, doubts independent repair shops are stripping aftermarket parts from phones, as it would be labour-intensive. However, he believes shops are likely to share customer information because Samsung can track the purchase and installation of its genuine parts, ensuring compliance from repair shops.
It remains unclear whether independent shops inform customers that Samsung will receive their personal information, as 404 Media did not specify this detail.
