After years of complaints about “unlawful” repairability policies, the FTC is suing tractor manufacturer Deere & Company. Repairability advocates are calling it a milestone for consumer rights.

John Deere’s “unfair” practices raised repair costs for farmers and kept them from being able to make repairs on tractors and other equipment they own, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleges in a new lawsuit.

The lawsuit against the maker of John Deere tractors represents a final push in the Biden administration’s broader efforts to make repairs less costly for consumers.

The latest chapter in the ongoing story of right to repair promises to be a controversial one. Deere & Company has long been under scrutiny from the Federal Trade Commission for restricting farmers’ right to repair tractors and combines bought from the company.