Nine months after it became a copyright violation to unlock your cell phone without permission, the White House has asked the Federal Communications Commission to do something about it.
This week, the U.S. Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration filed a petition with the FCC, asking it to end the ban on unlocking wireless devices. The ban took effect in January, after the Librarian of Congress refused to exempt unlocking from the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
“Americans should be able to use their mobile devices on whatever networks they choose and have their devices unlocked without hassle,” NTIA Administrator Lawrence Strickling said in a statement. The administration first showed its opposition to the ban in March, after a petition to the White House collected more than 100,000 signatures.
In many cases, users already can unlock their cell phones, allowing them to work on other wireless networks without running afoul of copyright law. Most wireless carriers, for instance, will unlock your phone upon request as long as your account is in good standing.
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