back to article Don't like your cell network? Legal unlocking ends TONIGHT in US

Unlocking a phone to use it with another carrier will be illegal in America from midnight tonight unless the cellphone is already in your hands. Freeing a phone from a particular network used to be allowed, but under last October's reinterpretation of the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act that right disappears from all …

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  1. Schultz
    Thumb Down

    Legal, illegal, scheissegal

    The carriers try to hide the real cost of their offerings. I would have thought that unlocking the phone is the legitimate defense of the customer who got lured. Legitimate no longer, it seems ... can't be long until the European jurisdictions follow the leadership of the revered US.

    1. LarsG
      Meh

      So glad

      Not to be an American't......

      1. Gannon (J.) Dick
        Unhappy

        Re: So glad

        A fair amount of snark in your comment, I'll choose to ignore.

        I am an American until at least midnight, it seems, and I had no idea that my merkinesque person was in jeprody until I read this article.

        Could somebody at El Reg promise me I'm not waking up Scandanavian ? Tropics would be good, Australia fine for the rest of the Summer although I'd have to learn the language ...

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      So

      If I travel to the US with my iphone and iPad, both jail broken and unlocked do I get arrested as I enter the country, then jailed or fined?

      1. Malcolm Weir Silver badge

        Re: So

        Of course not. First, because you already have the things, so aren't covered by a rule that takes effect tomorrow. Second, and ultimately more relevantly, the issue lies with the process of unlocking; the locked/unlocked end states are both totally legal, the problem is the mechanism to go from one to the other.

        Sane carriers (of which there aren't many, but T-Mobile surprisingly is one) are happy to unlock phones ON REQUEST, as long as you've had the thing for a certain period of time (typically, 90 days) and are current on your bill (the 90 day part is to prevent people buying phones on contract, unlocking and reselling them "as new"; they can still do this, of course, but they'll have to wait 3 months before they do).

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: So

          Wouldn't put money on it - the septics are fond of prosecuting you for breaking their laws elsewhere.

          1. Steve Davies 3 Silver badge
            Pirate

            Re: So

            Great comment.

            Remember that US laws apply to the whole globe. Unlock your phone in the UK and take it to the US and end up being someones bitch in a US Federal Prison.

            Another crazy US Law (like being put on the Sex Offenders register for life for taking a leak in public.)

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: So

              It's just like the gun laws....nothing will change. People will still unlock their phones just like people will still buy guns. Downloading media is illegal also and carries a stiffer penalty, guess what, go look up the statistics on what was D/L the most and by how many people.

              And the part about sex offenders, look in your own backyard. The ONLY people I have ever heard of being a sex offender aren't just urinating in public.

              But it DOES sound like you have a few issues by mentioning being someones "bitch" and "sex offender", and THAT sounds just like what we've come to expect of YOUR country.

              1. Ian Johnston Silver badge
                Thumb Down

                You can't "download media"

                That would be like faxing paper to a fax machine. The whole point about downloading is that you don't need any media.

            2. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: So

              "Another crazy US Law (like being put on the Sex Offenders register for life for taking a leak in public.)"

              Is that true? I'd like to see them go to France one day, where pissing on the street appears to be every Frenchman's duty.

              1. Michael Wojcik Silver badge

                Re: So

                "Another crazy US Law (like being put on the Sex Offenders register for life for taking a leak in public.)"

                Is that true?

                It's certainly allowed by the laws of some states. Here in Michigan, public urination itself is a misdemeanor which does not constitute a sex-offender crime, but if there are aggravating circumstances (eg multiple counts, sexual posturing, etc), then the offender could face more serious charges that do entail sex-offender registration. See http://www.lawrefs.com/urinating-in-public-michigan/, for example.

                Other states are more draconian about this sort of thing, and while I'm not going to do the research, I wouldn't be at all surprised if there are states where a public-urination conviction does entail sex-offender registration. We love our sex-offender registration here in the US; it's our witch-hunt du jour.

                I also have no idea how many people, if any, might currently be on their state's registry solely for such an offense. I wouldn't be surprised if there are some.

                The more common case that people complain about is the considerable number of registered sex offenders whose only offense was consensual sex when both parties were underage. While teens rolling in the hay might not be a good idea, ruining their lives over it seems a tad over the top, not to mention counterproductive.

                Of course, none of this has anything whatsoever to do with the DMCA or unlocking phones.

            3. Michael Wojcik Silver badge

              Re: So

              Unlock your phone in the UK and take it to the US and end up being someones bitch in a US Federal Prison.

              This sort of hyperbole only makes it more difficult to organize public opinion against ill-conceived laws like the DMCA. No rational person is going to take this sort of paranoid ranting seriously.

              Tell you what: anyone who's jailed in the US for unlocking their phone in the UK will be personally liberated by me and my Ninja Unicorn Cavalry. How's that?

          2. TheRealRoland

            Re: So

            >Septics

            It stinks, doesn't it?

          3. Blitterbug
            Devil

            Re: ...the septics are fond of prosecuting you...

            Woah there, buddy! There's no need to call our Merkin friends diseased, now!

            1. Nick Ryan Silver badge

              Re: ...the septics are fond of prosecuting you...

              I don't believe that septic used in this way is down to that usage of the word. Instead it's "septic tank, yank" - as in rhyming slang. Although I'm not sure where "yank" originates from...

              1. Andrew Moore

                Re: ...the septics are fond of prosecuting you...

                'yank' comes from the dutch 'Jankees'; a common name/nickname for the settlers.

        2. El Presidente
          Windows

          Re: So

          Of course not. He'd be extradited instead.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: So

        >If I travel to the US with my iphone and iPad, both jail broken and unlocked do I get arrested as I enter the country, then jailed or fined?

        Technically, they could probably just have you extradited now.......take the plea bargain, you'll be out in 6 months.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Legal, illegal, scheissegal

      "Freeing a phone from a particular network used to be allowed, but under last October's reinterpretation of the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act that right disappears from all handsets bought from Saturday. Jail-breaking devices - to allow the installation of third-party apps - will remain legal, only not on tablets."

      Jesus - this is fucking bullshit.

      Reminds me of the US laws that the rigged meat industry got created, that stopped people from criticizing their shitty and unhealthy and unethical practices.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_libel_laws

      The more I hear about this DRM nazification - from "Oh you can't rip your own CD's and put them on your thumbdrive", this, "Oh you can't remove the network locking on your own phone."...

      Most of the network providers in Australia, that DO provide locked phones, also give $5000 worth of free calls per month, billed at $100 a minute and shit like that - before they start charging you at some outrageous rate.

      Buy the cheap shit Samsung, unlocked, plain clamshell phone, for $40 from the Kmart or some supermarket.

      Fuck the networks.

    4. James Micallef Silver badge
      Thumb Up

      Re: Legal, illegal, scheissegal

      "Legal, illegal, scheissegal "

      Yes, carriers do their best to OBFUSCATE their costs but can't HIDE them outright. A discerning customer is able to work out more or less what they'll be spending, and if they sign a contract they are acknowledging that they are getting a free / cheap phone in return for staying with the network for the contract duration.

      Unlocking a contract phone while still on contract to go to another carrier is a breach of contract, and the only way it is justified is if the carrier changes their terms halfway through (ie it's the supplier who are breaching the terms of contract)

      As to the difference between 'phone' and 'tablet', I would have thought it's very simple. Any device, whatever the size, that has a SIM card and is capable of connecting to the mobile phone network is a phone. Anything that is wifi-only is a tablet

      1. nichomach
        WTF?

        @James Micallef - Re: Legal, illegal, scheissegal

        I'm dubious of the logic behind the proposition that, say, a Nexus 7 changes from a tablet to a phone merely by being bought with or without HSPA.

        1. James Micallef Silver badge
          Thumb Up

          Re: @James Micallef - Legal, illegal, scheissegal

          "I'm dubious of the logic behind the proposition that, say, a Nexus 7 changes from a tablet to a phone merely by being bought with or without HSPA"

          It's only a proposition to establish the legal status of the device. Since when have legal terms kept within the bounds of logic?

          :)

    5. Anonymous Coward
      WTF?

      Re: Legal, illegal, scheissegal

      I have never understood the thinking behind this.

      If you sign a contract say for 12 or 24 months you are paying a monthly fee during that time to the provider to cover the cost of the phone and normally a set amount of minutes, texts and net access etc.

      So, why does the provider give a monkeys hoot if you decide to unlock it and use it on another network? You are after all still paying them?

  2. Number6

    Automatic unlocking

    I'd object to locking a phone to a network much less if, once the contract has finished and the phone is legally mine, they didn't then extort more money to provide an unlock code. That should be automatically provided without the need to ask for it. Even better if it could be done by a system text message, although I can appreciate such a method is probably more easily hacked than sending something in the post to be manually entered. (I bought my last phone minus contract so it's not locked, thus avoiding the problem.)

    1. asdf
      Thumb Down

      Re: Automatic unlocking

      >I'd object to locking a phone to a network much less

      Largely with CDMA phones in the US (Verizon, Sprint, etc) the phone is locked to the network due to incompatibilities between networks as opposed to artificial operator restrictions. Not being legally allowed to root a device you own and run whatever software you have rights to run on it is beyond absurd. Obviously now its buyer beware for the geeks but its stupid you even have to worry about it.

      1. Naughtyhorse
        Trollface

        absurd you say???

        "Not being legally allowed to root a device you own and run whatever software you have rights to run on it is beyond absurd."

        now you leave apple's business model alone! it made them one of the most valuable companies on the stock market.... oh hang on a minute..

        as you were.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Am I glad I live in the UK, brought my phone direct from an operator, got my unlock code within a few days for £15... I don't buy phones that are locked unless I can unlock them!

    I usually buy from CPW or Vodafone, their phones are usually unlocked..

    1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

      re: Am I glad I live in the UK

      Of course unless Britain wants to be thought of as an axis of evil/supporter of terrorism it will wish to get alongside the forces of Righteousness and implement these rules itself.

      After all we bravely fought Europe for the right to have 1 year warranties rather than 2 - having locked phones is a fundamental sign of Freedom(tm)

      1. Jamie Jones Silver badge

        Re: re: Am I glad I live in the UK

        Indeed. I once had a right wing American tell me that the NHS in the UK is yet again nothing more than the government controlling our lives.

    2. Montreal Sean

      Glad I'm Canadian!

      Here in Montreal you can find a kiosk that unlocks phones for $20 CAD in almost any shopping mall.

      The last two or three phones I've had were pay as you go phones from other networks that I then unlocked to use with my provider. Cheapest way to replace a phone when your baby breaks them.

  4. Cubical Drone

    For US readers...

    Looks like there is a petition that you can 'sign' at http://wh.gov/yA9n

    Probably won't help, but it doesn't hurt to try.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Thumb Up

      Re: For US readers...

      Whoa, nice find! This is one petition I'm going to watch!

      This simple petition willd demonstrate exactly how much the US Gov. cares about it's people versus corporations.

      I really don't care that they are locking things back down, it just shows where we (I'm American) stand as citizens, right below the corporate bottom line. Go USA!

      Anyways, this petition is a very good demonstration of the online petition system effect. If it does get enough signatures, and the law doesn't change, please stop posting links to them, because they will be wholey regarded as an marionette of good will by the US Gov. Yes, I think the online petition system is a 3-Card Monte. Does it work, doesn't it work, does it matter...just keep starring away!

  5. Rampant Spaniel

    Nothing to do with all those iphones ending up on tmobs network then.

    If the net ops wanted this it will hurt them. I'll just buy an unlocked phone from amazon and use it on mobipcs :-)

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      The problem is that most unlocked phones are sold at inflated prices to protect the "carrier subsidy". Look at the price of the Nexus 4 (if you could get one) versus the price of other 4.7 inch phones. Either Google was taking a big loss on each one, or someone is getting ripped off.

      1. TeeCee Gold badge
        Stop

        Look at the price of the Nexus 4 (if you could get one) versus the price of other 4.7 inch phones.

        Read the reviews again, paying particular attention to the battery life and memory limitations. There is no such thing as a free lunch.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Windows

    After the contract has expired,

    they should be forced to give you the unlock code as ou have paid for the subsidy (?) with your monthly fees...

    1. Vector

      Re: After the contract has expired,

      Even before the contract has expired, this is ludicrous! Every cellphone contract of which I'm aware has an early termination fee clause. You wanna unlock your subsidized phone? Pay the ETF.

      I've also noticed that even with all the crying the operator do about having to subsidize devices, my bill never seems to drop once that "subsidy" is paid off.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: After the contract has expired,

        That is why the FCC should have allowed AT&T to buy T-Mobile but put stipulations in place that separates the phone from the plan. If you want a subsidized phone, you pay on it for 24-months and at the end, it gets removed from the bill. You still have the same plan, etc. It would also help in when people lose or just want to upgrade, they see how much they must payoff to get a new phone. The FCC could force change by withholding their votes on mergers and acquisitions unless the carriers provide more customer friendly services.

      2. nowster

        Re: After the contract has expired,

        Actually, T-Mobile is currently giving me a £4 per month discount for having continued the contract for another 24 months and not requesting an upgrade to my handset.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: £4 per month discount (After the contract has expired)

          Yes, I too was offered this amazing discount with T-mobile when I was mulling over whether to keep my current contract and buy a phone outright, at the time £36/month, so would have been £32/month. I'm now signed up for another 24 months @ £36/month.

          Some quick maths here:

          £36 * 24 = £864

          £864 - £500 (cost of Galaxy S3 at the time) = £364

          £364 / 24 month = £15 / month for service.

          So when my contract runs out, do you think they'll give me a £21/month discount, no, it'll be £4 again. So I'll probably upgrade again. Rinse & repeat.

          1. mccp

            Re: £4 per month discount (After the contract has expired)

            @ AC 10:18

            T-Mob will effectively give you £20/month discount if you switch to their full monty SIM only contract, currently £16/mo unlimited calls/texts/data. When I recently looked at contract phones vs SIM only + unlocked phone it was hard to find any great difference between any of them. With a contract phone you may have the convenience of an automatic upgrade, but SIM only gets you an unlocked phone from the start.

  7. Evil Auditor Silver badge
    WTF?

    Is it 1. April already?!

    My flabber is truely gusted.

  8. Steve Knox
    Flame

    American law does not acknowledge the existence of the phablet.

    Good. Neither should you.

    Small tablet == okay.

    Bulky phone == okay.

    Hybrid device == okay.

    "Phablet" == stupid, stupid, stupid word.

    1. Eddy Ito

      Re: American law does not acknowledge the existence of the phablet.

      American law doesn't acknowledge the existence of lots of things since it's pretty much guaranteed to be constantly behind the times. I always enjoy watching the various state and federal legislatures playing vernacular twister to make new and undefined pegs fit into the existing square holes.

      >"Phablet" == stupid, stupid, stupid word.

      Really? Here I thought most pholks thought it was phabulous.

    2. Euripides Pants

      Re: phablet

      A phablet is an abnormal growth on a male's ABC*.

      *Per Johnny Knoxville, ABC stands for Ass-Ball Connection

    3. Magani
      Headmaster

      Re: American law does not acknowledge the existence of the phablet.

      ""Phablet" == stupid, stupid, stupid word."

      Couldn't agree more. Any ful kno it's a "tone".

      1. hplasm
        Happy

        Re: American law does not acknowledge the existence of the phablet.

        Tablerone.

        1. Adam 1

          Re: American law does not acknowledge the existence of the phablet.

          No, tablerobes are a bit more triangular than phablets.

    4. TheRealRoland

      Re: American law does not acknowledge the existence of the phablet.

      >Phablet

      Phlappy?

    5. Steve the Cynic
      Facepalm

      Re: American law does not acknowledge the existence of the phablet.

      ""Phablet" == stupid, stupid, stupid word."

      At least you weren't tormented by the word used by some of the French video game press before the Wii U tablet controller had a proper Nintendo name. A video game controller in general is a "manette". A tablet-type object such as an iPad is a "tablette". The Wii U controller? "Mablette". Ugh.

  9. Steve Knox
    Meh

    Not as big a deal as you make it out to be.

    Most manufacturers and even carriers in the US will now happily sell you an unlocked device; this exemption was probably considered no longer necessary.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Not as big a deal as you make it out to be.

      And one of the reasons they would sell you an unlocked device was that you could legally jailbreak a locked one.

    2. Gene Cash Silver badge
      Thumb Down

      Re: Not as big a deal as you make it out to be.

      Not really... try getting Verizon to even acknowledge the existence of unlocked devices, much less sell you one.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Not as big a deal as you make it out to be.

        > Not really... try getting Verizon ...

        Most != All

  10. Eddy Ito

    Ok, I buy most of my phones unlocked on the neutral anachromatic import market anyway. I suspect anyone who really cares will do the same unless five Supremes decide it's illegal to sell/buy something imported through alternate channels.

    1. LarsG
      Meh

      @Eddy Ito

      That my friend is the next step.....

  11. Rampant Spaniel

    So is it illegal to unlock your own but network operators can still unlock them???

    1. Anonymous Coward
      FAIL

      Yes, because you paid for a subsided phone. Unlocking before the end of the contract period is the same as stealing money.

      Are all Americans this stupid?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        > Yes, because you paid for a subsided phone. Unlocking before the end of the contract period is the same as stealing money.

        How's that? Unlocking the phone doesn't get you out of the contract with the carrier. You still have to pay the monthly bill (or pay an early termination fee) so therefor still have to pay the subsidy.

      2. Starfish
        Facepalm

        @Shitpeas - The first rule of giving abuse on the internet - make sure your point is correct, or you really come over as a self-righteously wrong arsehole.

        Operators use contracts to claw back the subsidy. Unlocking does not end a contract.

  12. Tom 35

    BS

    "Operators lock phones to give them enough time to recover the subsidy they pay"

    No, that's what the contract is for. This is so you can't switch to another provider without getting a new phone/contract too. It's just lock-in.

  13. User McUser
    Flame

    Looking out for No. 1

    "Operators lock phones to give them enough time to recover the subsidy they pay when the contract is signed [...]"

    If I'm under contract then I have to pay the agreed fee until the end of the contract or pay an "early termination fee." Which is perfectly fine; I signed the contract fully understanding that it is a binding legal document. So why do they need to lock the phone as well?

    My theory is that they're trying to make switching providers as difficult as possible whilst simultaneously destroying the used phone reseller market.

    1. Jamie Jones Silver badge

      Re: Looking out for No. 1

      As a pure guess, I'd say it would be to encourage people to not default on their contracts. Litigation costs...

  14. zinc
    Thumb Down

    Top 2 cell phone companies spent 25.5 million on lobbyist in 2012

    I buy a phone I agree to use the provider for 2 years. The provider calculates cost recovery and profit and sets my price for 2 years. On year 3 I'm still prevented on unlocking my phone because my government believes it could be a terrorist plot if I changed to a carrier of my choose. Why should a law written to prevent terrorist be used to prevent me to use my phone with a carrier I choose after I met all my obligation with my contract.

    1. ed2020
      Thumb Down

      Re: Top 2 cell phone companies spent 25.5 million on lobbyist in 2012

      "A law written to prevent terrorist"?

      I don't agree with preventing end users unlocking their phones (or even phones being locked in the first place) but what the fuck has it got to do with terrorism?

      1. Gene Cash Silver badge

        Re: Top 2 cell phone companies spent 25.5 million on lobbyist in 2012

        In the US, everything has to do with terrorism... it's the new "but think of the chillldrennnnn!"

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Like we needed another reason to not be American.

  16. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Jailbreaking has always been illegal under DCMA

    It just add I happened that it was part and parcel of carrier unlock on iphone (which upto today was legal)

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Even when the contract has ended?

    Surely it's your phone, you've fully paid for it through your subs, but now you can't unlock it legally?

    Hmmm, not sure I lilke that, but I expect we'll have it in the UK soon...

  18. Dan Paul
    Devil

    Another Constitutionally protected right goes down the tubes!

    (Yes I am being sarcastic) Can anyone tell me when citizens in the US and elsewhere gave up our rights to property ownership?

    Obviously, you really can't legally or ethically change providers when the phone is still under contract but once that contract is up, I can do whatever the F@$k I want to do with the hardware because I have paid enough "rent" on it to pay for the real cost many times over.

    F@$k the government and everyone associated with it, especially those involved with the DMCA.

    1. the spectacularly refined chap

      Re: Another Constitutionally protected right goes down the tubes!

      Obviously, you really can't legally or ethically change providers when the phone is still under contract but once that contract is up...

      Why not? If I subscribe to an X month contract and am given a phone in return it is mine and the first sale doctrine would naturally seem to apply. It is my phone, so I may use it for the contracted service, put in in a drawer, flush it down the toilet, sell it to someone else... you get the idea.

      Sure, I've signed a contract and I have an obligation to uphold that contract. That generally means covering the cost of my subscription and any non-inclusive calls. Nothing about the device I use to make use of the contracted service, nor indeed whether I even make use of that service at all.

  19. Rampant Spaniel

    Can I unlock it when I go abroad on vay cay shun then bring it back in the country unlocked?

    I had hoped given the severity of the financial crisis the guberment would be working on more important matters than this, like perhaps the shonky tax code?

    1. Jamie Jones Silver badge

      "Can I unlock it when I go abroad on vay cay shun then bring it back in the country unlocked?"

      You really want to chance giving the TSA even more of an excuse to abuse your personal 'rights' ??

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Where "rights"="arsehole"

  20. ratfox
    Megaphone

    I never understood how this can be legal

    Currently, you can get an iPhone 4 for free (well, $1), if you take it with a two-years plan of $60 per month — That is $1440 in total. The phone itself costs about a third of that price. Each month, $40 of what you pay for the plan pays for the actual service, and $20 pays for the phone.

    Which means that if you don't get a new phone, you are paying 50% more than what you should. How is this not bundling? Isn't bundling normally illegal?

    Imagine if Microsoft suddenly announced that from now on, Windows costs 50% more, but with any purchase of Windows, you get the possibility to buy Word for $1… What are the chances this would fly?? I thought that was exactly what got them in trouble with Internet Explorer…

    1. edge_e

      Re: I never understood how this can be legal

      What got them in trouble with Internet Explorer was abusing their monopoly position to prevent competition.

      1. gotes

        Re: I never understood how this can be legal

        What got them in trouble with Internet Explorer was abusing their monopoly position to prevent competition.

        So why then is it ok to bundle Notepad and Calc without first offering the user the chance to choose an alternative?

        Sorry, off-topic.

        1. Tinker Tailor Soldier
          Headmaster

          Re: I never understood how this can be legal

          There no market for Notepad and Calc? Actually, the bundling wasn't that big a deal, it was the OEM contracts.

    2. Jamie Jones Silver badge

      Re: I never understood how this can be legal

      "Which means that if you don't get a new phone, you are paying 50% more than what you should. How is this not bundling? Isn't bundling normally illegal?

      Imagine if Microsoft suddenly announced that from now on, Windows costs 50% more, but with any purchase of Windows, you get the possibility to buy Word for $1… What are the chances this would fly?? I thought that was exactly what got them in trouble with Internet Explorer…"

      In the UK, each particular contract type typically has a choice of phones (at varying monthly prices) along with a "SIM only" deal, so we aren't forced to go for a bundled option unless we prefer to (some people without a phone may prefer to get their iphone on contract for £20 or whatever a month more, than buy one outright and then take the cheaper sim-only deal)

  21. sisk

    I have no words to express my feelings on this decision. Instead, allow me to indulge in a fitting, if slightly juvenile, visual demonstration for the Library of Congress' decision.

    ....................../´¯/)

    ....................,/¯../

    .................../..../

    ............./´¯/'...'/´¯¯`·¸

    ........../'/.../..../......./¨¯\

    ........('(...´...´.... ¯~/'...')

    .........\.................'...../

    ..........''...\.......... _.·´

    ............\..............(

    ..............\.............\...

    1. Michael Wojcik Silver badge

      allow me to indulge in a fitting, if slightly juvenile, visual demonstration for the Library of Congress' decision

      It's the office of the Librarian of Congress, not the Library, which establishes the DMCA exemptions.

      The LoC has upheld the far more important DMCA exemptions. Frankly, I'm happy to let this one go. The Librarian is charged with granting and renewing these exemptions only when there are strong arguments in favor of them, and letting the weak ones slide validates the Librarian's role in the process. If the LoC granted every exemption anyone asked for, there'd be enough pushback from industry to get Congress to amend the DMCA to remove the exemption process. It's critical that the LoC show diligence in weighing and ruling on exemptions. The exemption review is long and difficult (I have a friend who was instrumental in getting some exemptions renewed last time, and I've looked at some of the transcripts, so I have some second-hand familiarity with it), and that's part of what preserves it; it's as onerous for the industries that would like to eliminate exemptions as it is for the side of the angels.

      And to be honest, this could be good in the long run, if word gets around and persuades more people to buy phones from independent vendors rather than get subsidized ones, or if customers start pressuring carriers to offer free unlocking. If some carriers advertise free unlocking, that could bring significant pressure against the rest, as has happened with various other contract features ("rollover", free in-network calling, etc).

  22. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Unlocking and jailbreaking should be completely outside the scope of the DMCA as they are not for defeating copyright protection mechanisms. This isn't like banning the crowbar, this is like banning the key.

  23. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Guns!

    At least you can still buy a semi-automatic rifle.

    1. Jamie Jones Silver badge
      Happy

      Re: Guns!

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gm7dZi_DFZQ

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Guns!

      Yes, but you can't use a semi-auto rifle to facilitate a serious criminal activity like unlocking a phone. Guns are harmless! - it's people that kill people.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Guns!

        Guns don't kill people, rappers do...

        Yes, Welsh Rap act Goldie Lookin Chain...

  24. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    So who gave this Librarian so much power,anyway ?

    In case you were wondering about the penalties for unlocking your new phone:

    **********************************************************************************

    In General. — Any person who violates section 1201 or 1202 willfully and for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain —

    (1) shall be fined not more than $500,000 or imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both, for the first offense; and

    (2) shall be fined not more than $1,000,000 or imprisoned for not more than 10 years, or both, for any subsequent offense.

    (b) Limitation for Nonprofit Library, Archives, Educational Institution, or Public Broadcasting Entity. — Subsection (a) shall not apply to a nonprofit library, archives, educational institution, or public broadcasting entity (as defined under section 118(f)).

    (c) Statute of Limitations. — No criminal proceeding shall be brought under this section unless such proceeding is commenced within five years after the cause of action arose.

    **************************************************

    I propose a little bit of perspective

    Apparently, an industry that can charge real money from 1.08 billion individual communication devices now needs legal protection from a librarian. Is this really justified?

    If I could earn 1 cent from each of these phones tomorrow (one time), I would already bank 10,800,000 USD.

    If I could charge each of those phones 1 cent/per second for 1 minute of communication per year I would bank 648,000,000 USD

    If I could charge each of those phones for 1 hour of communication per year (at 1 ct/sec).

    I would make 30,888,000,000 USD.

    Yes, more than 30 BEELION dollars for 1 hour per year,

    So how much do you think providers are actually charging the world's mobile consumer market? How much do you spend on mobile phone calls each day/month/year ? Do you think the providers might be losing out?

    Anti-trust legislation and hanging need to come back into fashion. At the very least, legislative priorities need to be re-adjusted, real fast.

    1. Stratman

      Re: So who gave this Librarian so much power,anyway ?

      Ook!

    2. Rampant Spaniel

      Re: So who gave this Librarian so much power,anyway ?

      The financial gain \ commercial gain sounds like its aimed at shops doing it. If i unlock my own phone just so i can use it on another network wouldn't seem to come under those right?

    3. Michael Wojcik Silver badge

      Re: So who gave this Librarian so much power,anyway ?

      Sigh.

      The Librarian of Congress authorizes exemptions to the DMCA. They're the good guys. Without this role, unlocking would always (since the passage of the DMCA) have been illegal, as would numerous other things.

  25. Tony Paulazzo
    Big Brother

    No longer a united state but 'The Corporate State'...

    I pledge allegiance to the Corporate States of America, and to the Fortune 500 for which it stands, one Nation under Hollywood, indivisible, with liberty and justice for the one percenters...

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      American Congress...

      Taking US out of the USA one right at a time.

  26. Fihart
    Angel

    Belgium 1 USA Nil

    Phone locking is unlawful in Belgium.

    No idea why, because they actually have some of the worst consumer rights in Europe.

    We need to lobby the EU to make this law across the market and then to force the separation of hardware sales from airtime, so that both are transparently priced.

    The EU has already demonstrated its readiness to take on the telcos by curbing roaming extortions -- I suspect because lots of EU officials and Euro MPs have been burned themselves.

    1. T. F. M. Reader

      Re: Belgium 1 USA Nil

      Actually, the EU overturned the Belgian law, so petitioning the EU seems futile. I have just checked, and posted the (very short) list of countries that disallow locking in a separate post (before I saw yours).

      1. Fihart

        Re: Belgium 1 USA Nil

        @T.F.M. Reader

        That's very worrying.

        However I am reliably informed that a lot of EU-types are convinced that the telcos are getting too rich and too powerful and need bringing to heel.

    2. Marcelo Rodrigues
      Happy

      Re: Belgium 1 USA Nil

      Last time i checked, locking phones is unlawfull in Brazil too. It wasn't - but the law was changed about... dunno, two years ago.

  27. Bluntly
    Pirate

    Wrong Place For a Standoff

    Im a simple man with a simple expectation. If i hold it in my hand, keep it in my home, and use it in my daily life then I own it. I really would murder the first person to challenge my right to ownership to goods I have already paid for, taken home, and thoroughly used. On the other hand, if the seller wants to buy back the item, they can ask nicely. It isn't anyones business who services a device that someone owns, subsidized or not, because when the user is not happy with how it is serviced, that is a failure of the provider. When someone is held unwillingly in a position by another, it is called being trapped, and Americans deserve protection from being trapped.

    Regardless of whether it is a corporate policy or a new law, further resistance to our creative, expressive, and material rights as men and women of freedom will only fan the flames of dissent until everyone is considered either a criminal for creativity or a human commodity, devoid of the right to choose.

    1. Coldwind104
      WTF?

      Re: Wrong Place For a Standoff

      " I really would murder the first person to challenge my right to ownership to goods I have already paid for, taken home, and thoroughly used"

      Then you're a pretty worrying person, and I think you should probably work on your sense of proportion before going out in public again.

      Yeah, I know, you're probably just being macho for effect, but if you tell me you "really would", then I have to assume you like to imagine you really would.

      Aside from this, I actually agree with your sentiment - but if people are going to take our point of view seriously, it's probably not a great plan to make earnest-sounding comments about murdering people over a legal challenge.

  28. Martin Maloney
    Trollface

    Correction

    "...under last October's reinterpretation (sic) of the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act..."

    "...under last October's misinterpretation of the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act..."

    There -- fixed it for you.

  29. Don Jefe

    Hadley

    The librarians name is Hadley & he looks exactly like what I expect a Hadley to look like. A smug gray haired old coot in a very outdated but nicely tailored suit. I bet he carries a pipe & doesn't smoke it too.

  30. T. F. M. Reader

    Seems there are still sane countries on this planet:

    Colombia, Chile, Finland (sort of), Israel, Singapore.

    (source: the eminently reliable http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIM_lock).

    According to the same source, EU is already screwed.

    Pick your citizenship?

    1. n4blue

      Sane countries

      Not sure I'd class any of those countries (except perhaps Finland) as entirely sane.

      I'm guessing this has a lot to do with the consumer demand for unlocked phones, and that this is driven more by the need for international roaming than the desire to switch domestic operators.

      In a country like Singapore, where many of its citizens regularly cross the border into Malaysia or Indonesia, not being able to swap your SIM would create a big backlash. In the U.S., where only 30% of the population have a passport, this is less of a problem. Note that AT&T unlock iPhones for free for U.S. service personnel stationed overseas.

  31. Anonymous Coward
    Joke

    So, what you in for?

    "Murder"

    "Rape"

    and you?

    "Er, well, I unlocked my cell phone"

    ... much nodding of heads ...

    "Yeah, last week they sent Jimmy to solitary for jailbreaking his iPad"

    "My cousin Vinnie 2 fingers got a long stretch for installing Cyanogenmod on his s3"

  32. mark l 2 Silver badge

    I am sure their will still be several back street phone shops that will happily unlock your phone for a charge, not to mention i assume that the thousands of websites that offer unlocking from the IMEI number on the web will still work for people in the US or will they block access to them and persuade VISA/Mastercard to stop accepting payments for them?

  33. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Americans....

    ...gone mad.

    Lawmakers have nothing better to do then suck up to these corporate bullies.

    The Land of the FRee, indeed.

  34. Chris Walton
    Stop

    time for another choice?

    Mobile network operators are getting too greedy, telling you what you can and can't do with something which you own at the end of the contract or the renewal period.

    Its time to seriously look at mesh networking for smart phones, with so many of these devices around this has got to be a viable alternative.

  35. 2Fat2Bald

    I can see both sides...

    To be perfectly honest, part of me is having problems caring about this. I generally buy a new handset when my contract runs out. I use it until it next runs out, and get another handset. Which means I get one of the top handsets every 18 months or so, and forget about it the rest of the time. And I'm perfectly happy to do this. I don't want to jailbreak the phone or install cyanogenmod on it because this will wreck the warranty. I know their terms when I sign up, and I accept them. I can see that the operator is letting me walk away with an expensive bit of hardware, and they'll make their money back (plus more) over the life of the contract. At the end of the contract the handset is usually dated, quite worn and battered and I'm getting a new one so I just wipe it, stick it in a drawer as a spare and forget it "Well done, oh good and assiduous servant" and all that.

    At the end of the day I'm buying a branded phone on specific terms and I'm perfectly at liberty to either take the deal, or leave it. I don't see why the operator ought to be compelled to offer an unlocking service to me so I can escape their contract, or sell the phone as anything other than what I bought it as - a branded phone. Yes I guess at the end of the contact it is nice if they help you unlock it as it's now fully paid-for and your own property. But if that's not a term of the contract then isn't it a bit like buying a car, and walking into the dealership 3 years after you buy it expecting them to fit a stereo for free?

    1. Fihart

      Re: I can see both sides...

      @ 2Fat2Bald

      To quote you: "But if that's not a term of the contract then isn't it a bit like buying a car, and walking into the dealership 3 years after you buy it expecting them to fit a stereo for free?"

      Isn't it more like driving into a gas station and finding that you car won't run on anything but the brand of fuel sold by the car's manufacturer ?

    2. Marcelo Rodrigues
      Devil

      Re: I can see both sides...

      "I don't see why the operator ought to be compelled to offer an unlocking service to me so I can escape their contract, or sell the phone as anything other than what I bought it as - a branded phone"

      Because your contract says You will remain on the operator for X months. At the end of this period (presumably) Your plan will have covered the subsided cost of the phone.

      If You lose the phone, is the same.

      If you burn the phone, is the same.

      If you bury it, on the full moon, and do strange dances over it - it is the same.

      The operator WILL get its pound of flesh, no matter what happens to the hardware. So, why lock the hardware? You will be fined if choose to walk away from the monthly bills - and that is what matters to the bottom line.

      The hardware? It is already chalked up as "cost of doing business".

      No reason to lock it - just greedy and pettiness.

      And "branded" isn't the same as "locked". You can have one, both, another or neither.

      Branded -> Phone with a customized firmware, usually with the operator's logo and visual identity.

      Locked -> Phone wich cannot be used outside a given network.

      With the Nokias (circa E66) You could debrand it, putting the standard firmware - but the locking would not go away. I know it for a fact - did it on mine.

    3. (AMPC) Anonymous and mostly paranoid coward
      Flame

      Re: I can see both sides... YEAH But

      Unlocking your phone and technically breaking your contract with Joe Telco is a bit naughty, particularly if you signed or clicked on a document saying that you wouldn't.

      However, I don't think it deserves the draconian penalties provided in the DCMA. In fact, I can't even see how the DCMA applies. What started out as a not too bad but slightly outdated law, now just looks like a charter for corporate, copyright holder oppression.

      Before the world went insane, breaking contractual terms (like those you might sign with a mobile provider or those implicitly agreed to when you bought a magazine or book) were private, civil matter.

      So were copyright issues. I would like to know why jail breaking a phone is now on a par with capital crimes and major felonies in terms of real punishment.

      Why should a quasi monopoly with lots of money be able to criminalize its customers and put them into orange jumpsuits? Most of these fecking contracts are only worth 20 bucks a month.

      I'm still trying to understand how it got this bad.

      People need to vote with their feet, technology AND their wallets....

      If a good cloud mobile phone solution with un-restricted access (and free device unlocking existed) consumer choice would soon put monopolist turds out of business.

      Class-action suits', massive boycotting of firms that restrict your consumer rights , followed by some serious trust-busting wouldn't hurt either. Instead, we are still giving them money.

      I seem to recall there were laws against this kind of boorish corporate behavior, but they aren't being used anymore. What ever happened to people like Ralph Nader? Or common sense?

      Laying down and taking this crap will just encourage monopolists to take your first born, next time.

      1. Fihart

        Re: I can see both sides... YEAH But

        @AMPC

        To quote you "Why should a quasi monopoly with lots of money be able to criminalize its customers...."

        The very same question you might ask of the privately owned railways who, if you fail to buy a ticket worth a few £s , may seek to charge you with a criminal offence.

        In fact, you have committed no crime in the usual sense of physical theft, violence or damage. Rather you have a civil dispute with the railway company which in should entitle them (like any normal company or individual) to bring a claim against you in a small claims court.

        The difference is that the railways were given special powers in pursuit of building an infrastructure -- this hardly applies to the trivial matter of mobile phone unlocking. The US law is a corruption and probably the result of corruption.

    4. Gollum_HKT
      Happy

      Re: I can see both sides...

      In that case can you mail me all your old phones - purlease

  36. Aoyagi Aichou

    US law = law of the world?

    Can't we just unlock the phone when going abroad for a holiday? I doubt ownership of an unlocked phone is now outlawed, only the process on unlocking.

  37. Hutch!
    Devil

    On the bright side...

    On the bright side, I'm so glad that my government is going to protect me from the evildoers who are out unlocking their phones and jail breaking their tablets, and should probably stop worrying about the meth makers down the street and how much time it will take before I see their house explode.

    And knowing that courts will most likely be filled with cases involving "AT&T VS. Joe Citizen" for unlocking his phone or "Apple VS. Bob Neighbor" for jail breaking his iPad that there will be no time to the Murder trial of Johnny the Drunk driver who killed an entire family while driving his van down the road after enjoying a keg at home makes me feel even better, while we're at it, lets start releasing people in Federal Prison to we can make room for all these evil people.

  38. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    what about when the phone is "paid for"?!?!

    ok, fine. I'll go with no phone unlocking, if the telcos will cut my monthly bill by the carrier subsidy amount once the phone is paid for..

    If 30% of my AT&T monthly bill goes towards "paying for" my subsidized phone, then after two years, I deserve a 30% cut in my phone bill, because it's paid for, right?

  39. Brandon 2
    Pint

    crony capitalism

    I wonder which politicians had stock in which companies when this legislation was passed... so glad I'm an American, but more often infuriated. I'll drink one to hoping this doesn't spread across the pond!

  40. mickey mouse the fith
    FAIL

    How is this in any way enforcable?

    How will they know you unlocked it?, will networks match imei numbers of newly purchased locked phones to any new device connected to their network via a global, trans network database?

    And whats the point?, they have already absorbed the cost with the minimum contract. I suppose they might take a loss on payg phones, but then the gains of people coming from other networks via unlocking probably even it out.

    Also, what has this got to do with piracy?, i thought the dmca was created due to hollywood bleating about their (imaginary) cocaine money being stolen by freetards rather than people swapping sims?

    If i want to unlock/modify/alter something i paid good money for, il bloody well do it, and no petty penpusher or stupid law will deter me.

  41. This post has been deleted by its author

  42. bean cube

    Make in China is automatically unlocked

    Just search ebay and amazon and you can find out a lot.

    Why should your devices be locked? Can China manufacturers lock your devices?

    If China locked our devices, what do we call it? Technology exploitation, right?

    If AT&T locked our devices, what do we call it then?

    1. Fihart

      Re: Make in China is automatically unlocked

      @bean cube

      This may well open the floodgates to grey imports of unlocked phones -- and models which have dual SIM holders. The latter are common in Asia but scarce in UK (and US ?), probably due to telco pressure on mfrs.

      The issue which no-one seems to have addressed is the waste created by locking. When switching telcos, presumably most people will discard existing phone (no doubt sweetened by the offer of a "free" new phone).

      Of course the new phone will also have been manufactured in China etc, so another blow to the balance of payments.

      This US law is bonkers.

  43. Stuart Ball

    If you never "own" the phone outright, and only lease, with the ability to unlock it at your discretion, surely then the carrier becomes responsible for recycling it.

    I am SURE Carriers want THAT responsibility.

  44. ReformCopyright

    Don't buy locked phones....

    Any American can buy unlocked phones from sources overseas or local. Vote with your dollars and only buy unlocked phones. Google has been trying to help you out on that since they released the unlocked Nexus One. I'm lucky, I guess. I live in New Zealand where telcos were forced by consumers to sell unlocked phones. YPeople just would not buy locked phones. You can even buy unlocked iPhones - standard, not as exceptions. Kiwis are long used to ordering things from overseas that local companies don't / won't sell. Clove.co.uk sell unlocked phones, as do MobiCity and Expansys. OK...so you pay full p;rice for the phone. Guess what....that's actually cheaper in the long run.

  45. Prof. Mine's A. Pint
    FAIL

    Had cake, now want to eat someone elses.

    NOTE: This comment only applies to in contract un-locking. Once you're out of contract, fill ya boots.

    So, you've opted for a heavily subsidised piece of hardware (offering the company who bought it an opportunity to make a bit of wonga off YOU) and now you don't want to pay the price.

    idiot!

    If you wanted the independance why didn't you buy a sim free unit at it's full retail price?

    Only a simpleton freetard would down vote this, so go ahead, identify yourselves.

    1. This post has been deleted by its author

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Had cake, now want to eat someone elses.

      Simpleton Freetard reporting in.

      The contract stops you getting out of paying, so what difference does it make if you unlock the phone? Oh, yeah, none at all.

      Now who's the idiot?

  46. asteryx

    Library of Congress new Verizon Wireless Department

    Yet another instance of government graft. What should be a civil contractual issue between parties becomes a criminal offense. What is offensive is these government pundits have too much time, too little oversight, and too little accountability. Perhaps we can get congress in on this too ... let's make early termination charges non dischargeable in bankruptcy.

  47. iosax

    Millenium copyright law is for business what the Patriot act is for government: a sneaky way to enslave people

    The Librarian of Congress is an 83 year old man, James Hadley Billington. When unemployment is rampant among young people, why is a government employee allowed to work until 83, particularly in a job that requires full mental abilities?

  48. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    What are they going to do?

    What are they going to do, DMCA take down request? LOL!

  49. heyrick Silver badge

    Incredible, the things the DMCA is being twisted into use for

    Here in France you can get your operator-locked mobile unlocked, for free, after three months of owning the phone. It's the law. [ http://www.senat.fr/rap/l10-139/l10-1399.html ]

    Of course, this doesn't necessarily mean you can jump ship. If you signed a contract for 12 or 24 months, you are assumed to maintain this contract. You can leave early, but you will pay a penalty for doing so.

    I habitually unlock my phones when I can so that other people in my family (who may use other networks) can use my phone if necessary simply by swapping the SIM. Also it is an annoyance, I'm contractually obligated to be with the provider so why lock the hardware as well? It can't be for phone calls to landlines, they're free. It can't be for SMS/MMS, they're free. It can't be for calls to one of my three selected mobiles (network agnostic), they're free. I pay for calls to other mobiles and anything international... but since international to most places is free from the landline phone, I can just wait. So, tell me, what exactly is the point of SIMlock in this situation?

  50. This post has been deleted by its author

    1. Ed_UK
      Happy

      Re: Whoa...

      Upvoted for the awesome en-wordificationism.

  51. Kernel

    Re: Don't buy locked phones....

    Actually, as far as I'm aware here in New Zealand any phone you buy is unlocked, even if it is on a subsidized contract - although personally I've always bought from non-carrier sources so I can't confirm that for sure.

    Interestingly enough a friend has recently bought an unlocked, AT&T branded, Samsung from some on-line source.

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