There's another right to repair fight brewing in Massachusetts

The No side's ads are incredibly scummy.

The retired boston police commissioner has done an ad spot for Yes on Right To Repair specifically to slap down the "you will be raped in a parking lot" FUD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bye5DRBSpw

The EFF is also strongly in favor, naturally, but i think Ed Davis will pull more weight if anyone's undecided.

(when marijuana legalization was on the ballot in 2016, the then-chief of the state police did a similar ad spot whose pitch boiled down to "vote yes so we can stop wasting our time on stupid college students, willya?", which I think had a similarly large impact. )

Scummy is a polite word for the advertisements. It's been fascinating to watch them evolve in waves.

First wave: POV of a predator in a parking garage approaching a woman. Grave female voiceover: "Sexual predators could track your automobile, and remotely control the vehicle - including unlocking the doors." The female victim turns as the camera descends on her - she screams - "Vote No on Question 1. Don't let sexual predators control YOUR vehicle."

Second wave: Russian hackers with pimples nodding with pleasure as they take control of your vehicle, in a "Kremlin-sponsored hacking room" that looks like NCIS by way of Dr. Strangelove. Vote no - don't let Russian hackers control your vehicle.

Third wave - Muddy the waters by changing tone entirely to mimic the "Yes on 1" ads which have local, named individuals urging "it's your data, keep control of it." Muddied version - "It's your data, keep it safe. Vote no on 1."

Fourth wave - white unnamed men in auto shops with forced-sounding boston accents explaining that if you vote yes on 1, it'll hurt the little guy.

The insane $$ being thrown at trying to kill this bill [] tells a story in itself.

[] https://ballotpedia.org/Massachusetts_Question_1,_%22Right_t...

Massachusetts sends out a voting guide: Massachusetts Information for Voters. It's the red cover brochure.

If you look at the Against side of Question 1, the largest paragraph is from Jane Doe, the MA Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence.

Jane Doe, Inc. has retracted their support, but it was too late for the brochure to be updated.

MA resident here -- I'm voting yes on this ballot question for the exact reason why farmers seek older farm tractors and machines. The more shops that have access to data, the more competition there will be, which is a good thing.

I prefer that they don't have it either, but that's not a choice. But if every garage in the state has access to this data, it seems like a much bigger risk.