If its affecting Apple then free speech be damned seems to the motto of iPhone and MacBook maker. Apple has always been against free stuff on Internet teaching its users how to repair iPhones, MacBooks etc for free fearing loss of lucrative after sales service business which forms a major part of its balance sheet.
New York Repair Bill was supposed to make it easier for smartphone and laptop owner to easily fix their broken machines by forcing tech manufacturers like Apple to release electronic parts and design manuals to independent repair shops. However, Apple along with other manufacturers like Cisco and Xerox managed to get the bill killed.
If passed, the bill could have been a boon to repair technicians and “right-to-repair” advocates nationwide. The bill was supposed to come up for vote in the month of June but major manufacturers collude to get the bill squashed in committee before it had a chance to reach the floor for a vote.
After failure of the New York Repair Bill, the only method to get some cheap/free repair options was video tutorials on YouTube but Apple doesn’t seem to like even that. It is now thinking of suing one such YouTuber who specialises in how to repair videos for Apple gadgets.
Louis Rossmann is a YouTubers who shares useful how to repair videos for iPhone and MacBook owners. As the owner of an electronic repair shop in New York, he offers a unique angle to viewers that includes engineering instruction with philosophy thrown in for good measure. Now Rossmann has alluded in a start video that Apple may be contemplating suing him and closing down his channel on YouTube.
Though Rossmann didn’t categorically say that Apple was shutting down his YouTube channel or suing him. In the video he urges his fans and subscribers to download his how to videos and upload them again to make it difficult for the Cupertino based firm to ban his work completely.
In the video he states that he isn’t allowed to share what’s going on but he alludes at hidden threats :
- @6:52– Louis informs viewers that they can download YouTube videos.
- @7:41 – Louis mentions that YouTube channels have a “finite lifespan”, often because a large corporation has the power and money to shut them down.
- @8:42 – Louis shares that he’s happy that he’s live a difficult life so that he can be strong for the immense challenge that is ahead.
- @10:06 – Louis shares that he is going to have to fight from this point onward.
- @11:22 – Louis states that all his videos may soon be gone.
- @11:32 – Louis mentions that his business may disappear.
Rossman’s fight with Apple has been a talking point on many tech forums like Reddit, Mac Kung Fu, and 9to5Mac. Many of his followers have been speculating about this and whether or not Apple is behind this.
A gaming website, GameRevolution, which brought the story to light has also mysteriously taken down the report though you can read the cache version here.