Nearly two years after the Librarian of Congress decided to make it illegal for consumers to unlock cellphones and take them to a new carrier without getting permission from their current wireless provider, the U.S. Congress has finally signed off on legislation that will restore that right to Americans. [More]
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House Passes Bill To Re-Legalize Cellphone Unlocking
By 2.26.14
A legislative effort to once again make it legal for consumers to unlock their cellphones without seeking their carriers’ permission is a step closer to reality after being passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. [More]
Wireless Companies Adopt Voluntary Unlocking Standards. Are They The Right Ones?
By 12.12.13
A month after new FCC Commissioner Tom Wheeler asked the wireless industry to stop futzing around and agree to some consumer-friendly standards for unlocking wireless devices, the wireless biggies get around to revealing what they believe are guidelines that are the best for everyone. [More]
Commerce Dept. Asks FCC To Require Wireless Companies To Unlock Cellphones
By 9.18.13
A year ago, the Librarian of Congress decided that consumers no longer own their cellphones, and that they can not legally unlock that phone to take to another, compatible wireless carrier, without the permission of their current service provider. Because this is idiotic, everyone from consumer advocates to the FCC to members of Congress to the White House has called for this rule change to be reversed. Now another important governmental group has piped in, calling for a rule change that could undo some of the damage done. [More]
Consumers Union Calls On FCC, Lawmakers To Relax Rules On Cellphone Unlocking
By 4.16.13
As many of you know, the Librarian of Congress, who has the authority to interpret (and reinterpret) the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, recently heeded the siren song of the wireless industry and decided that after the DMCA no longer allowed consumers to unlock their cellphones — i.e., unleash them from their current provider to be used on a competing but compatible network — without getting permission from that current provider. It’s move the public doesn’t like. Neither does the White House, the FCC, or members of Congress, but what’s being done to remedy the issue? [More]
Congresswoman To Introduce Bill To Make Cellphone Unlocking Legal Again
By 3.7.13
Just days after both the White House and the Federal Communications Commission expressed concerns about the Librarian of Congress’ decision to make it illegal for consumers to unlock their own cellphones, a U.S. Representative from California says she intends to introduce legislate to right this wrong. [More]
White House Agrees That Cellphone Unlocking Should Be Legal Again
By 3.4.13
In January, a decision by the Librarian of Congress made it illegal for cellphone owners to unlock new devices without the permission of their current wireless carrier. This decision sparked public outrage, including a petition on the White House website calling for the administration to give this right back to consumers. The White House has since responded to say it concurs that this decision is a little messed up. [More]
