Unlocking a Phone purchased after 26-1-2013 is illegal

[Guru Gopal 589]

Now in USA, unlocking a phone which was sold after 26-1-2013 is illegal.

the link is

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzHuO4_BqRRuVTQ4OFBiTGk3ZFE/edit

[kundalus 24]

there are reports saying $500000-$1000000 fine for illegally unlocking a phone, that too for phones which costs less than 1/1000th....lol.....

[Guru Gopal 589]

if it done by individual, civil suit will lie and fine would be less. if it is done by way of commercial basis only huge amount of fine besides imprisonment.

[KanagaDeepan 1,084]

Will it affect our gurus importing gsm handsets from US?

Sent from my Razr MAXX using Tapatalk2

[digitalnirvana 646]

I have the same question, and how will the rules be enforced.

Sent while mobile.

[kundalus 24]

In a way yes. Yes because phones won't be unlocked using a code purchased from a reseller. No coz certain phones are world phones. But for sure, it's gonna affect the rates as these days most of the phones are gsm locked or programmed to lock gsm by oems

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

[Guru Gopal 589]

The worst-case scenario for an individual or civil offense could be as much as a $2,500 fine. As for those planning to profit off of the act or a criminal offense -- such as a cellphone reseller -- the fine could be as high as $500,000 and include prison time.

[ni0987 179]

this is going to affect americans only.

nothing for łndians to worry about.

infact soon we are going to have a phone-unlocking industry in mumbai or somewhere on western coast.

Edited January 29, 2013 by ni0987

[kundalus 24]

Most of us have been using cellphones imported from US. The Librarian of Congress had made unlocking of cell phones (bootloader & unlocking for gsm phones) illegal from 26th Jan under DMCA. Whitehouse has put up a page for signing petition to make it legal again and had set the benchmark figure of min 100000 petitions from 5000 earlier. Below is the link and the counter needs only 1288 more petitions as im writing this. Pls support this, i know we may not be fully equipped or have a right but lets sign this petition as this affects us too in some or the other way.

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/make-unlocking-cell-phones-legal/1g9KhZG7

[supernova 47]

Its already reached threshhold.

Sent from my S2 cdma

[matriX1218 44]

That's a good news...

Resale value of our phone increased...

Sent from my Droid Bionic via Reliance Wireless

[Balram Dhanda 8]

But still unlocking was easily accessible in India earlier too, However it may impact the Price hike a bit for customers.

[amitroutray 384]

White House responds to petition: unlocking phones should be legalized

The recent ruling that effectively bans third-party phone unlocking has ruffled more than a few feathers, and the people have spoken with their electronic signatures -- 114,322 of them, to be exact. Now the petition to the White House, which asks that DMCA protection of phone unlockers be reconsidered, has finally received an official response, and it appears that it's for the positive. The author of the letter is R. David Edelman, Senior Advisor for Internet, Innovation and Privacy.

"The White House agrees with the 114,000+ of you who believe that consumers should be able to unlock their cell phones without risking criminal or other penalties," Edelman writes. All told, the response matches that of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which wrote a letter to the Librarian of Congress in support of extending the exemption last year.

So what does this mean for us? Edelman states: "The Obama Administration would support a range of approaches to addressing this issue, including narrow legislative fixes in the telecommunications space that make it clear: neither criminal law nor technological locks should prevent consumers from switching carriers when they are no longer bound by a service agreement or other obligation." We're not going to see immediate change, but it appears that a chain of events is now in motion in which the FCC and Congress potentially play a huge role. We're not out of the woods yet, but it's relieving to see such a positive response -- along with a call to action -- from the government.

Source :

http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/04/white-house-phone-unlock/

http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/04/white-house-phone-unlock/

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/response/its-time-legalize-cell-phone-unlocking

Triggered from my Nexus 7

Edited March 4, 2013 by amitroutray

[rajanmehta 4,056]

Awesome. Now that's really called Government Of The People, By The People & For The People.

That's why Obama is liked.

He has the gift to do the right thing and be always on the side of what majority of the people want/think.

Here is the Official Full White House Response To The Petition.

Thank you for sharing your views on cell phone unlocking with us through your petition on our We the People platform. Last week the White House brought together experts from across government who work on telecommunications, technology, and copyright policy, and we're pleased to offer our response.

The White House agrees with the 114,000+ of you who believe that consumers should be able to unlock their cell phones without risking criminal or other penalties. In fact, we believe the same principle should also apply to tablets, which are increasingly similar to smart phones. And if you have paid for your mobile device, and aren't bound by a service agreement or other obligation, you should be able to use it on another network. It's common sense, crucial for protecting consumer choice, and important for ensuring we continue to have the vibrant, competitive wireless market that delivers innovative products and solid service to meet consumers' needs.

This is particularly important for secondhand or other mobile devices that you might buy or receive as a gift, and want to activate on the wireless network that meets your needs -- even if it isn't the one on which the device was first activated. All consumers deserve that flexibility.

The White House's position detailed in this response builds on some critical thinking done by the President's chief advisory Agency on these matters: the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). For more context and information on the technical aspects of the issue, you can review the NTIA's letter to the Library of Congress' Register of Copyrights (.pdf), voicing strong support for maintaining the previous exception to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) for cell phone carrier unlocking.

Contrary to the NTIA's recommendation, the Librarian of Congress ruled that phones purchased after January of this year would no longer be exempted from the DMCA. The law gives the Librarian the authority to establish or eliminate exceptions -- and we respect that process. But it is also worth noting the statement the Library of Congress released today on the broader public policy concerns of the issue. Clearly the White House and Library of Congress agree that the DMCA exception process is a rigid and imperfect fit for this telecommunications issue, and we want to ensure this particular challenge for mobile competition is solved.

So where do we go from here?

The Obama Administration would support a range of approaches to addressing this issue, including narrow legislative fixes in the telecommunications space that make it clear: neither criminal law nor technological locks should prevent consumers from switching carriers when they are no longer bound by a service agreement or other obligation.

We also believe the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), with its responsibility for promoting mobile competition and innovation, has an important role to play here. FCC Chairman Genachowski today voiced his concern about mobile phone unlocking (.pdf), and to complement his efforts, NTIA will be formally engaging with the FCC as it addresses this urgent issue.

Finally, we would encourage mobile providers to consider what steps they as businesses can take to ensure that their customers can fully reap the benefits and features they expect when purchasing their devices.

We look forward to continuing to work with Congress, the wireless and mobile phone industries, and most importantly you -- the everyday consumers who stand to benefit from this greater flexibility -- to ensure our laws keep pace with changing technology, protect the economic competitiveness that has led to such innovation in this space, and offer consumers the flexibility and freedoms they deserve.

[cityofgod69 1]

still there are zillions unlocked phones sold on ebay/ amazon/ walmart/ newegg etc etc