The letter doesn't refer to any single device, but experts say the petition covers Scientology's "E-Meter," claiming that it is a "religious artefact" that is core to Scientology and should be exempt from the right-to-repair law. 

In 1969, Scientology was accepted as a religion by the US Court of Appeal and declared that the E-meter was helpful in "bona fide religious counselling". District Court Judge Gesell, while denying medical validity to the device, allowed the e-meter to be used if it were inscribed with a disclaimer that it was not for medical or scientific diagnoses, treatment or prevention of any disease.

The church reformulated the disclaimer: "The Hubbard electrometer is a religious artefact. By itself, this meter does nothing. It is for religious use by students and church Ministers in Confessionals and pastoral counselling only.”

Author Services, which represents the literary, theatrical, and musical works of L. Ron Hubbard," told the US Copyright Office that it opposes the renewal of an exemption to Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act that makes it legal for consumers to hack their electronics for repair.

This exemption to copyright law is needed because many electronics manufacturers put arbitrary software locks, Digital Rights Management systems, or other technological prevention measures that stop consumers from diagnosing or repairing devices unless they are authorised.

Special exemptions to copyright law make it legal for farmers to hack past John Deere's DRM to fix their tractors, consumers to use software tools to help them repair certain parts of game consoles, or use third-party software to circumvent repair locks on printers, air conditioners, and laptops.