Enough with the planned deterioration of consumer goods, from light bulbs to household appliances through mobile phones, TVs and any other large or small object. In the Senate, the Industry Committee is discussing precisely this: to put an end to the set of techniques that cause the arbitrarily and intentionally induced expiry of consumer goods-objects in order to increase profits and sales of an object.
In essence – denounces sen. Gianluca Castaldi, (M5s) first signatory of the design that aims to limit this phenomenon – the "life cycle" of a given consumer object is consciously limited, by programming its failure, in order to arouse in consumers the need to immediately replace that same object , discouraging the purchase of spare parts (which are often not convenient or even not installable). And here then is that “it is forbidden for the manufacturer to implement techniques that could lead to the planned obsolescence of consumer goods. For electrical and electronic consumer goods that require a software component for their correct functioning, the manufacturer is required to ensure the availability of software updates for the entire marketing period and for a further period equal to the duration of the legal guarantee. and related applications, as well as the necessary technical assistance".
And that's not all: the warranty periods have been extended to 5 years (from the current 2) for small goods and 10 years (from the current 5) for large household appliances.
And then the sanctions: the producer or distributor of consumer goods is punished with imprisonment of up to two years and a fine of 300.000 euros if he has deceived or attempted to deceive the consumer, by any means or procedure, even through third parties. “Building goods destined to break down quickly represents a guarantee of continuity for the market - underlines sen. Castaldi – with consumers forced to replace potentially healthy appliances, but in which the initial design has inserted a planned defect”. The parliamentarian recalls: "A German study entitled "Programmed obsolescence - Analysis of the causes - Concrete examples - Negative consequences - Operating manual", demonstrated how numerous household appliances and commonly used products are programmed, by the manufacturers themselves, to break after about two years i.e. after the expiry of the statutory warranty period”.
The commission is holding a series of hearings and this week will hear representatives from Confartigianato, APPLiA Italia; Samsung Italy and CNA.
