Right-to-Repair Sweetens McFlurry But Sours When Lives Are at Stake

By Roslyn Layton, Tech Policy Expert | The Blaze

McDonald’s enthusiasts across the country are celebrating a change that could end the chain’s notorious ice cream machine breakdowns. Thanks to a new copyright exemption, McFlurries and soft-serve ice cream may soon flow without interruption.

A recent update to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act allows outside entities to access and repair “retail-level commercial food preparation equipment.” Previously, McDonald’s employees had to rely on specialized repairs from the manufacturer. Now, franchise owners can bypass copyright restrictions and fix the machines themselves.

Goodbye to “broken machine” memes — and hello to reliable ice cream.

The ruling marks a significant victory for the right-to-repair movement, which pushes for greater consumer and business control over repairing the products they own. While this is a win for consumers, it raises concerns about whether policymakers might overextend the movement into sensitive areas like medical devices.

Last month, I joined a panel discussion on the right to repair and examined how a “one-size-fits-all” approach to policy reform could lead to unintended consequences.

Unlike simpler technologies, where errors might cause inconvenience or financial loss, failures in medical devices can directly affect patient health and safety. Medical devices are heavily regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which enforces strict guidelines and approval processes to ensure all repairs and modifications meet safety and performance criteria.

Read the full piece in The Blaze.