[A groundswell of consumer support has resulted in a petition to the Whitehouse to reverse a ruling making it unlawful to unlock a phone. The White House promises a response.]

Michelle Maisto -- "A petition asking the White House to reverse a ruling on unlocking devices has surpassed the 100,000 votes needed to garner an official response. A Whitehouse.gov petition asking the White House to help change the fact that it's now illegal to unlock a mobile phone, even one no longer under contract with a wireless carrier, has exceeded 100,000 signatures—the minimum required for the White House to acknowledge it.

On Jan. 26, it became illegal to unlock a locked device, after an Oct. 26 2012 ruling by the Librarian of Congress went into effect. The ruling was based on the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which states, "No person shall circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title."

...

More...

Back to Headlines...