White House Supports Cell Phone Unlocking, Big Victory For Tech Activism

[UnrepentantLiberal]

Today was a big day for grassroots consumer activism: The White House officially came out in support of cell phone unlocking. After over 100,000 netizens demanded a response from the Obama Administration related to a new law banning consumers from “unlocking” their cell phones in order to move between carriers, the White House declared its unequivocal support for consumer choice.

“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,” wrote White House Senior Advisor R. David Edelman on the White House Blog. “In fact, we believe the same principle should also apply to tablets, which are increasingly similar to smart phones. And if you have paid for your mobile device, and aren’t bound by a service agreement or other obligation, you should be able to use it on another network. It’s common sense, crucial for protecting consumer choice, and important for ensuring we continue to have the vibrant, competitive wireless market that delivers innovative products and solid service to meet consumers’ needs.”

Specifically, the administration supports “narrow legislative fixes” to allow consumers to move between carriers without legal penalties. It also gave a nod to the role of the Federal Communications Commission, which announced at a TechCrunch CrunchGov event last week,that it would investigate whether it has any executive authority to overturn the law.

Until earlier this year, consumers were able to “unlock” their smartphones, which allowed them to switch carriers (AT&T, Verizon, etc). For six years, the Library of Congress exempted cell phone unlocks from the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which bans “circumvention” of copy protection schemes. The long-held decision was reversed during the last round of triennial reviews.

More: http://m.techcrunch.com/2013/03/04/white-house-supports-cell-phone-unlocking-big-victory-for-tech-activism/

[DiverDave]

1. And a pot user STILL goes to jail

what a fucking country, important shit is being discussed in the white house...

[BlueStreak]

2. Imagine if BP signed a deall with Toyota that says

We are going to put special gas tanks in all Toyotas such that you can only buy gasoline from BP with their special nozzle that fits these special Toyota tanks. And because of restraint of trade, BP charges an extra $12 per gallon, giving Toyota a kickback of $4 a gallon.

And if you make any attempt to use other gas, that is a FELONY and we'll put your ass in jail.

The consumer still has choice. You always have the choice to junk your Toyota and buy a Ford -- which, of course comes with the special EXXON tanks...

How, exactly is the current telecomm situation any different?

[UnrepentantLiberal]

3. It's not.

They legalized a monopoly.

[BlueStreak]

4. The public would never stand for that, but somehow the sheeple

seem to see nothing wrong with this picture of the telecomm industry.

People ought to be outraged. I own my phone. I should be able to do anything I want to with it. As long as I am paying for whatever service I use, and I am not causing any damage to the network, where do they have any right to turn this into a criminal act?