ABC News - Monday, March 4, 2013

"It's Time to Legalize Cell Phone Unlocking," Says White House



The White House has responded to an online petition to make cellphone unlocking legal, and that should make the 100,000-plus people who signed it very happy. The Obama administration says it's time to legalize the practice, which lets you to take your phone with you if you switch carriers, but was banned in January by the Copyright Office and the Library of Congress.

"The White House agrees with the 114,000+ of you who believe that consumers should be able to unlock their cell phones without risking criminal or other penalties," R. David Edelman, White House Senior Advisor for Internet, Innovation and Privacy, wrote on the White House Petitions Blog. "In fact, we believe the same principle should also apply to tablets, which are increasingly similar to smart phones."

Typically, if you sign a contract with a wireless carrier, you get a phone at reduced (or no) price as long as you stay with them. Unlocking your phone involves a software alteration and requires a new SIM card -- not a big deal if it hadn't been banned. The White House says the ability to bring your phone to another carrier or network is "crucial for protecting consumer choice" and is important in making sure America maintains its "vibrant, competitive wireless market."

The Obama administration said it is now planning to address the issue and would support legislative fixes to say that "neither criminal law nor technological locks should prevent consumers from switching carriers when they are no longer bound by a service agreement or other obligation."

[...]

Unlocking a cellphone was legal until Jan. 26. In October 2012 the U.S. Copyright Office and Library of Congress decided to remove phone unlocking as an exemption under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Edelman mentions in his post that the Library of Congress agrees that the process for the exemption is a "rigid and imperfect fit for this telecommunications issue."

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I strongly agree with the "neither criminal law nor technological locks should prevent consumers from switching carriers when they are no longer bound by a service agreement or other obligation." [my emphasis/bolding] language from above ~ the cost of any new phone, either as a new customer or as an upgrade to a continuing customer, is factored into the monthly rates we pay ~ I'm betting the cost of the phone is recouped before our obligation is met ~ so once the obligation is met, we should have the freedom to keep the phone we want and move to a new provider ~

Sooz

I would think this would also reduce the many phones that are disposed of because they can no longer be used after switching services.

I don't think it should matter even if someone is locked into a multi-year agreement. If they want to switch to a different carrier, their choice is to either pay both carriers at the same time, or to pay the first carrier an early cancellation fee.

Why should the first company have the right to prevent you from using your phone with a different carrier? You've purchased the phone -- it belongs to you. It's not like you're just renting it from the carrier.

And the Republican opposition starts in 3....2....1....