41 lines
2.1 KiB
Markdown
41 lines
2.1 KiB
Markdown
# White House Supports Cell Phone Unlocking
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Earlier this week, the starter of the [White House petition to "Make Unlocking
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Cell Phones Legal"][0] posted a [thread on Hacker News][1] stating that the
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White House had officially responded, stating:
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> The White House agrees with the 114,000+ of you who believe that consumers
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> should be able to unlock their cell phones without risking criminal or other
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> penalties. In fact, we believe the same principle should also apply to
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> tablets, which are increasingly similar to smart phones. And if you have paid
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> for your mobile device, and aren't bound by a service agreement or other
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> obligation, you should be able to use it on another network. It's common
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> sense, crucial for protecting consumer choice, and important for ensuring we
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> continue to have the vibrant, competitive wireless market that delivers
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> innovative products and solid service to meet consumers' needs.
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The petition---as stated in the above response---garnered over 114,000
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signatures. The response is exciting news because the Library of Congress had
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[removed the phone unlocking exemption][2] at the beginning of this year. (As
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the EFF points out, [this may not necessarily mean that unlocking your phone is
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"illegal"][3]).
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However, although this response is getting a lot of attention (I was surprised
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to see my local news station report on it), this is not yet cause for
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celebration; it is my hope that the White House will now follow through with
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this statement and act upon it appropriately.
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(The [EFF has also posted their own comments on the White House's response][4].)
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This is just one issue in [a string of problems that is the DMCA][5].
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[0]: https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/make-unlocking-cell-phones-legal/1g9KhZG7
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[1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5319577
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[2]: /2013/01/phone-unlocking-once-again-illegal
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[3]: https://www.eff.org/is-it-illegal-to-unlock-a-phone
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[4]: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/03/white-house-supports-unlocking-phones-real-problem-runs-deeper
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[5]: https://www.eff.org/wp/unintended-consequences-under-dmca
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