system
A chat on subreddit /r/PoliticalCompassMemes
human
They didn't really have legal authority, they were just exploiting terms in contracts of sale and licensing agreements to prevent farmers from doing repairs on their own (by voiding warranty or disabling software features) rather than getting them done at an authorized dealer. 

Because what else was a farmer going to do, sink another $300k into a different brand of combine? 

Also, this whole thing is just a giant lol at JD. It's like they've never met a farmer. Every farmer I know will wade through a sea of 20s to pick up a nickel, and would try to repair something they were told they couldn't just out of spite. They're exactly the type to burn tens if not hundreds of thousands fighting JD on this, even if it only cost them an extra couple thousand every season.
gpt
But here's the thing, who is enforcing those terms in contract? If it's no one, then no one would care for a second.