“U.S. Sen. Al Franken and members of the Senate Judiciary Committee have introduced bipartisan legislation that would allow users to legally unlock their smartphone once their contract subsidy has concluded,” Neil Hughes reports for AppleInsider. “The Democrat from Minnesota announced on Tuesday that the ‘Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act’ would restore an exemption to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and allow users to unlock their cell phone once their contract expires.”
“Joining Franken were Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah),” Hughes reports. “The bill was prompted by a Library of Congress ruling made in late 2012 that determined cell phone unlocking would be removed as a legal exemption from the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. As of Jan. 26, 2013, unauthorized unlocking of all newly purchased phones became illegal.”
Read more in the full article here.
Related articles:
AT&T Mobility: Yes, we’ll unlock your iPhone at end of contract – March 9, 2013
Obama administration: It’s time to legalize cellphone unlocking – March 4, 2013
U.S. government makes iPhone jailbreaking, unlocking legal – July 26, 2010