This is going to be the openWRT argument all over again. Linksys mid-tier and low-end hardware were somewhat differentiated by what the plastic looked like and which firmware version you had on the box. Most boxes got a lot of new functionality once you installed the open firmware. And once Cisco bought Linksys that whole problem just got worse.
So they won't want to do it.
Anyone doing Consumer Protection or Right to Repair should - at a minimum - request that all of the firmware for devices be transferred into escrow, to be released upon end of life for the product. Ideally that would be released when the product ships, but I don't think you'll be able to get that out of the gate.
What I'd really like is for all appliances to utilize a standard microcontroller design and pinout, similar to arduino or raspberry pi, and day-of-release firmware availability.
Most of these devices are running Linux, so I would say the fact manufacturers are not shipping "the scripts used to control compilation and installation of the executable" at time of sale or promptly upon request, is illegal already.
The GPL2 actually foresaw developers failing to ship critical bits that are required to run the software. There's just little will to enforce it.
So they won't want to do it.
Anyone doing Consumer Protection or Right to Repair should - at a minimum - request that all of the firmware for devices be transferred into escrow, to be released upon end of life for the product. Ideally that would be released when the product ships, but I don't think you'll be able to get that out of the gate.
What I'd really like is for all appliances to utilize a standard microcontroller design and pinout, similar to arduino or raspberry pi, and day-of-release firmware availability.