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cmadewd
@cox.net

cmadewd to Cartel

Anon

to Cartel

Re: Jailbreaking cell phones to become ILLEGAL at midnight

The article is lacking pretty much all of the facts in the matter.

This is not a new law. The copyright office and library of congress changed their interpretation of the DMCA as it pertains to unlocking of phones.

The reason they can do that is the basis that the software on your phone is licensed and not sold. So by unlocking the phone you are altering the software without the copyright holder's permission. A shaky foundation and one I don't agree with.

What this means in theory is that anyone who unlocks their phone without their carrier's permission is open to a lawsuit, not jail.

The carriers have stated that they are not interested in suing individuals for unlocking but are more interesting in rings of individuals that buy subsidized phones here, unlock them and sell them in foreign countries. The cost in doing that is absorbed by all of us in our cell bills.

Further I have yet to find evidence that an individual case of unlocking has ever ended up in a lawsuit.