UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

Federal Trade Commission 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20580 

Office of the Chair 

Statement of Chair Lina M. Khan 

Regarding the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 

on Improvements to the Energy Labeling Rule 

Commission File No. R611004 

October 14, 2022 

Today, the Commission voted to issue an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 

seeking comment on proposed improvements to the Energy Labeling Rule. Among other areas, 

the Notice asks whether consumers and independent repair shops would benefit from repair 

information being more widely available on energy labels. As I noted when the Commission 

issued its Policy Statement on Right to Repair in July 2021, I believe it is vital that the 

Commission use every tool available to it to vindicate Americans’ right to repair their own 

products,

1 and I am pleased that we are continuing to follow through on that commitment here. 

The Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 gives the Commission clear statutory 

authority to require manufacturers to provide consumers with “additional information relating to 

energy consumption, including instructions for the maintenance, use, or repair of the covered 

product” if the Commission finds such information would assist with purchasing decisions or in 

the use of the product.2 For the first time, the Commission is deploying this tool to ask whether 

consumers and independent repair shops would benefit from having repair information more 

widely available on energy labels. Such a provision could help consumers more easily repair 

everything from refrigerators and dishwashers to washing machines, air conditioners, water 

heaters, and televisions—products currently covered under the Rule—as well as new products 

that the Commission is considering adding to the Rule, including clothes dryers, air purifiers, 

humidifiers, hearths and outdoor heaters, cooking tops, and electric spas. 

As the FTC’s work has documented,

3 companies routinely use a wide array of practices 

to restrict Americans from repairing their own products. These restrictions can raise costs for 

consumers, stifle innovation, close off business opportunity for independent repair shops, create 

1 Remarks of Chair Lina M. Khan Regarding the Proposed Policy Statement on Right to Repair (July 21, 2021), 

https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_statements/1592358/p194400khanremarksrighttorepair.pdf. 2 42 U.S.C. § 6294(c)(5). 

3 In July 2019, the Commission held a workshop and a call for research on the prevalence and impact of 

manufacturers’ repair restrictions. Nixing the Fix: A Workshop on Repair Restrictions, Fed. Trade Comm’n (July 

2019), https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/events/2019/07/nixing-fix-workshop-repair-restrictions. In May 2021, the 

Commission issued a report to Congress that identified various types of repair restrictions and explored how the 

Commission could best address repair restriction concerns. FED. TRADE COMM’N, NIXING THE FIX: AN FTC REPORT 

TO CONGRESS ON REPAIR RESTRICTIONS (May 2021), 

https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/reports/nixing-fix-ftc-report-congress-repairrestrictions/nixing_the_fix_report_final_5521_630pm-508_002.pdf. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

unnecessary electronic waste, delay timely repairs, and undermine resiliency.4 Today’s action 

demonstrates the Commission’s commitment to using every tool it has available to advance

Americans’ ability to access independent repair. It builds on the Policy Statement on Right to 

Repair that the Commission issued in July 2021, affirming our intent to root out illegal repair 

restrictions.5 The Commission has since brought numerous right to repair cases, addressing 

unlawful repair restrictions affecting a variety of products, including motorcycles and outdoor 

electric power generators.6 

I thank our staff for their work on this important matter and look forward to hearing from 

the public during this rulemaking proceeding. 

*** 

4 Remarks of Chair Lina M. Khan Regarding the Proposed Policy Statement on Right to Repair, supra note 1. 5 Press Release, Fed. Trade Comm’n, FTC to Ramp Up Law Enforcement Against Illegal Repair Restrictions (July 

21, 2021), https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2021/07/ftc-ramp-law-enforcement-against-illegalrepair-restrictions. 6 Press Release, Fed. Trade Comm’n, FTC Takes Action Against Harley-Davidson and Westinghouse for Illegally 

Restricting Customers’ Right to Repair (June 23, 2022), https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/pressreleases/2022/06/ftc-takes-action-against-harley-davidson-westinghouse-illegally-restricting-customers-right-repair0; Press Release, Fed. Trade Comm’n, FTC Takes Action Against Weber for Illegally Restricting Customers’ Right 

to Repair (July 7, 2022), https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2022/07/ftc-takes-action-againstweber-illegally-restricting-customers-right-repair. 

2