Cell Phone Unlocking Is Legal -- For Now 135
On Friday President Obama signed into a law a bill allowing mobile devices to be legally unlocked, so that consumers can switch between carriers. The legislation was kicked off by a successful petition on Whitehouse.gov after the Librarian of Congress decided that cell phones no longer needed an exemption from the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's anti-hacking provision. The legislation (PDF) passed both houses of Congress and is now law. Unfortunately, the new bill doesn't guarantee permanent legality. It simply reinstates the exemption, and leaves the DMCA alone. For the next year, cell phone unlocking will certainly be legal, but after that, the Librarian of Congress once again has the ability to void the exemption once every three years.
Re:That's it? (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:LOL, "American Freedom"! (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Funny (Score:4, Insightful)
It's de facto been the same in the US...you just ask your company for a code and they give it to you for free (even if the phone has previously been under contract). Additionally, you've always been able to buy unlocked phones.
Re:Funny (Score:3, Insightful)
You joke, but it strikes me as unfair that some nations legally restrict phones subsidized from a long-term contract. Even though I don't have such a phone, if I want to enter such a contract it's my business, the government should have nothing to do with it.
Re:LOL, "American Freedom"! (Score:5, Insightful)
And that's the biggest fucking mistake any democratic government ever made.
And... (Score:5, Insightful)
...absolutely nothing has changed. People have been unlocking their phones; people will continue to unlock their phones; and if Congress re-outlaws it, people will still continue to unlock their phones.
Re:Funny (Score:5, Insightful)
Once the contract is done with, it should be your phone and not the telco's phone and that is all these laws are demanding. I can still go to most countries in Europe and get a phone on contract, but as soon as the contract is finished they are required to unlock the phone and to me, that seems fair to both sides..
Re:LOL, "American Freedom"! (Score:2, Insightful)
And I'd happily plunk down a slashdot sub on a bet saying it's cost more as well.