Cellphone unlocking set to become legal again
Source: AP-Excite
By PETER SVENSSON
NEW YORK (AP) Congress has passed a bill that makes it legal to "unlock" cellphones so the devices can at least in some instances be used on other carriers.
The law, which President Obama says he looks forward to signing, undoes a move by the Librarian of Congress in 2012. That made it a copyright violation to unlock a phone without the carrier's permission.
The law passed Friday by the House of Representatives makes it legal to unlock phones for personal use at least until the Librarian's next round of rulemaking, next year. The measure was passed earlier by the Senate.
Unlocking typically involves entering codes on the phone. In more difficult cases, the phone needs to be hooked up to a computer to have new software installed.
Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20140725/us-tec-cellphone-unlocking-645f83a1e2.html
antiquie
(4,299 posts)A quick recap for those who havent been paying attention. For years, it was completely legal for a consumer to unlock her phone, provided that she owned the device outright. Then in 2012, the Librarian of Congress, who has the sole authority to interpret (and reinterpret) the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, ignored precedent and common sense, choosing instead to listen to the wireless industry, which argued that consumers never really own their phones because the software that operates them is not purchased by the user but licensed.
And so, in Jan. 2013, it became illegal for a consumer to unlock his phone without permission from his current wireless carrier. This led to an immediate backlash from consumers, consumer advocates, the FCC, members of Congress and the White House, which subsequently nudged the Commerce Dept. to nudge the FCC to get the wireless industry to voluntarily enact its own unlocking standards.
Shortly before the end of 2013, the wireless folks did just that, announcing a set of standards that would hopefully make it easier for consumers to unlock their devices without having to jump through too many hoops.
http://consumerist.com/2014/06/24/senate-to-finally-consider-bill-to-make-cellphone-unlocking-legal-again/
uppityperson
(115,674 posts)George II
(67,782 posts)...I called AT&T and they gave me the codes to unlock both of them.
Maybe other phone companies aren't as open to that.
BadgerKid
(4,541 posts)I've read of such things happening AFTER the contract would run out.
George II
(67,782 posts)ButterflyBlood
(12,644 posts)And no doubt out of contract. This refers to people unlocking phones on their own.
billhicks76
(5,082 posts)Last edited Fri Jul 25, 2014, 08:22 PM - Edit history (1)
How about at least locking out the snoops who illegally spy on us everyday. Politicians must want to support this given that any embarrassing private conversation can be used against them as leverage to change a vote or other behavior. Where are the new phones that cannot be tapped?
George II
(67,782 posts)billhicks76
(5,082 posts)Yeah I do. I was illustrating a point based on word similarity. Geez.
mopinko
(69,811 posts)even my last gen paperweight, even?