Sina Khanifar - Slashdot User

Comment Petition starter here (Score 5, Interesting) 193

by Sina Khanifar on Wednesday February 20, 2013 @06:33PM (#42960031) Attached to: White House Petition To Make Cell Phone Unlocking Legal Needs 11,000 Signatures

Thanks for the support Slashdot. As CanHasDIY notes, it doesn't mean that the decision will be reversed, and I think at best this will be the start of a process to getting the DMCA anti-circumvention provisions revisited by Congress. But hopefully it'll help.

Submission + - White House Petition Lobbies to Make Cell Phone Unlocking Legal (whitehouse.gov)

Submitted by Tanlis on Wednesday February 20, 2013 @05:35PM

Tanlis writes: The Librarian of Congress decided in October 2012 that unlocking of cell phones would be removed from the exceptions to the DMCA. As of January 26, consumers are no longer able to unlock their phones for use on a different network without carrier permission, even after their contract has expired. Consumers will be forced to pay exorbitant roaming fees to make calls while traveling abroad. It reduces consumer choice, and decreases the resale value of devices that consumers have paid for in full. The Librarian noted that carriers are offering more unlocked phones at present, but the great majority of phones sold are still locked. We ask that the White House ask the Librarian of Congress to rescind this decision, and failing that, champion a bill that makes unlocking permanently legal.

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