The European Parliament has approved a legislative proposal, the main objective of which is address misleading labelingand it is very clear how to do this, improve the labeling of products, prevent the listing of characteristics that are not reliably proven, such as environmental data, and force manufacturers to indicate possible restrictions on the repair of listed products.

This regulation is presented as a European directive, which means that in the end it will depend on each member state of the Union its adaptation and integration into its own legal framework. So it won’t be mandatory, although that doesn’t change the fact that deep down it’s very positive in terms of consumer protection.

This guideline will deal with the use false environmental claims for many productsas “climate neutral” or “environmentally friendly”. To be able to use them, they must be properly documented and backed by real and detailed tests.

We also see in the proposal that it will be necessary to establish a clear label that includes the cost of repairing the product as well as possible limitations which this product may have if the consumer chooses to have the repairs carried out by a third party.

This issue is very important and can have a significant impact on certain products that in one way or another set clear restrictions that prevent repairs from third parties that are not considered “authorized establishments”. Apple would be the clearest example.

With this directive, consumers would have clearer certain aspects of the products they are about to buy, but there is also another very important point that is present in this proposal and which I wanted to leave at the end, because it seems to me one of the most important, planned obsolescence and battery lifeas well as other features and design guidelines that may limit the life of the product.

The European Union wants to fight against advertising and misleading claims that can affect all of these issues, and that they can convince consumers to buy a device that will last longer than the real thing. Considering that batteries are one of the most important components and that they wear out faster in simple daily use, it’s clear that Europe has managed to draw a fine line with this rubber.

Finally, in this proposal we see that there will also be an obligation to offer full support for third-party accessories such as chargers and spare parts. without limiting its functions in any way. The latter is also important because, as we told you at the time, it was considered the possibility that Apple could limit some functions of its new iPhone 15 with a USB Type-C connector to the original cables of the apple company, which with this new directive, that already could not do.