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White House Petition To Make Cell Phone Unlocking Legal Needs 11,000 Signatures
On January 26th, unlocking a cell phone that is under contract became illegal in the U.S. Just before that went into effect, a petition was started at whitehouse.gov to have the Librarian of Congress revisit that decision. "It reduces consumer choice, and decreases the resale value of devices that consumers have paid for in full. The Librarian noted that carriers are offering more unlocked phones at present, but the great majority of phones sold are still locked." The 30 days time limit on the petition is almost up, and it's about 11,000 signatures shy of the amount necessary to ensure a response from the Obama administration (100,000 total, recently increased from 25,000). The creator of the petition received a Cease & Desist letter from Motorola in 2005 for selling software that would allow users to unlock their phones, and he thinks it's only a matter of time before such legal threats begin again. This is part of a larger battle to protect the way consumers can use their devices. While it's still legal for people to root their phones, the Librarian of Congress failed to expand that legal protection to tablets, even though the devices are incredibly similar. The Librarian's decision (PDF) needs further review, and if the White House petition doesn't get enough signatures by February 23, such a review may not happen.
Will generate a flood of clicks... but will people actually create logins and sign the petition?
The cesspool just got a check and balance.
Why do you think your petitions mean anything to the petty tyrant who shoots missiles at will?
"...have the Librarian of Congress revisit that decision" != "Make Cell Phone Unlocking Legal"
That is all.
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
It's my phone, I paid for it and I honestly don't give two shits if some asshole in congress thinks I can't do what I want with something I own. Go ahead, make it illegal, fill up the jails and prisons just a little bit more. My guess is that a small handful of people might get into trouble over this, but the vast majority of us will do what we want WITH OUR OWN PROPERTY.
Thanks for the support Slashdot. As CanHasDIY notes, it doesn't mean that the decision will be reversed, and I think at best this will be the start of a process to getting the DMCA anti-circumvention provisions revisited by Congress. But hopefully it'll help.
Do you know why their doing this?It's because of the problem of so many people getting cells/droids under a contarcted agreement then deciding they want to switch to a diferent carrier without having to pay a large fe to get out of the original contract so I can understand why the major company's want this law.The people themselves are the reason this is happening,it is not the fault of the providers whatsoever,it is the fault of the users
i did
White House Petition To Get Staff Flunky To Reiterate That Cell Phone Unlocking Remains Illegal Needs 11,000 Signatures
Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there isn't an invisible demon about to eat your face
More like 11,000 more signatures before the WH pretends to take a look at it and then says they aren't going to do anything about it.
You don't ask for your rights. You take them.
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
Are there any examples of a "We the people" petition actually doing anything even if successful?
Talk to your congress critters.
It would help if they didn't show that I signed the petition, even though I am not logged in. Remember to login then, open the petition up.
Come and get me, coppers!
Barring possible contract violations with your cell phone provider, I can't see any reason you couldn't take your cell phone into Canada, unlock it there, and then return.
It's not illegal in the USA to possess an unlocked cell phone, and as I said, it's legal in Canada to unlock cell phones.
I mean, if you can, say, travel to some country where, for example, marijuana is legal, and take advantage of that fact while vacationing and then return without being held legally accountable for that act upon reentering the United States, I see absolutely no reason why this should be any kind of problem for people who live close enough to the Can/USA border to unlock their phones completely legally.
Not that I think the prohibition against cell phone unlocking is good. It's actually extremely bad because the justification for removing the cell phone unlocking exemption won't generally apply, because it actually creates some additional incentive for more cell phone providers to only provide locked phones.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
for them to build a death star
"unlocking a cell phone that is under contract became illegal in the U.S."
"It reduces consumer choice, and decreases the resale value of devices that consumers have paid for in full. "
These are in direct conflict with each other. If you've paid for a device in full, you're not under contract.
Really, all the cell phone companies need to do to swing things in their favor is to state that if you buy a subsidized phone, it remains the property of the telco until you've satisfied your contractual commitment. They can certainly prevent you from unlocking a phone that doesn't belong to you.
Here in Brazil, it is illegal to sell locked phones.
Circumcision is child abuse.
Right, because it was the "bureaucrats" who made this decision, not the politicians.
And, of course, a demand from 0.0003% of the population will cause them to spring into action to meet your demands...
Life needs more saving throws.
I mean, if you buy a "subsidized" phone and agree on a contract for two years or so, with monthly payments you have to pay if you use their network or not, what do they gain by not allowing you to unlock it and use it with another carrier (and pay for this also)? You're still paying them anyway.
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/appoint-susan-crawford-fcc-chairman/73mtqt0q ,
Susan Crawford, law school professor and author of Captive Audience: The Telecom Industry and Monopoly in the New Guilded Age, says “Truly high-speed wired Internet access is as basic to innovation, economic growth, social communication, and the country’s competitiveness as electricity was a century ago, but a limited number of Americans have access to it, many can’t afford it, and the country has handed control of it over to Comcast and a few other companies.”
In a recent TV interview, she pointed out high speed access in Hong Kong costs a fraction of what it does in New York city, because the US providers don't enter each other's markets. She wants to change that.
http://billmoyers.com/segment/susan-crawford-on-why-u-s-internet-access-is-slow-costly-and-unfair/
Serious question. With the advent of this official government petition forum, online petitions have been all the rage lately. Topics have ranged from legitimate causes (the one discussed in the article) to silly or facetious ones (building a Death Star). I know it's far too early to tell for the recent petitions, as it takes a while for things to happen in the government scene, but what electronic petitions have actually gotten stuff going?
Inspired by the news reports that discontinuing Leaded (Pb) gasoline caused a drop in crime rates, I wrote a petition calling for a study on why crime fell since 1990. I used to think it was the booming economy, but crime has not spiked up since 2008 too my surprise.
I found out later I need to get 150 signatures for it to be publicly viewable, and now's a good opportunity.
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/conduct-thorough-and-depth-study-why-violent-crime-fell-third-united-states-1990/KvSJbfDb
The limit is 800 characters, so I had to cut a bunch of stuff out. If Lead(Pb) increases the propensity to crime, what about depleted Uranium? (I bet the Iraqis are curious) What if aborting poor single women does kill off future criminals? Maybe an oppressive police force does stop crime. Maybe low cost legal drugs mean less robberies. Maybe better drugs for the mentally ill, make law abiding citizens? Maybe long prison sentences keep crooks off the street? What about plastic additives?
The war on drugs, abortion, removal of leaded gasoline, better pharmaceuticals, and other things have changed America over the last few decades, shouldn't we try to learn from them?
...and your petition can be *officially* ignored by the White House!
There we go, you mother fucking idiots that signed the Death Star petition. Are you fucking happy now? If you hadn't been fucking the dog, they wouldn't have raised the number of signatures needed. Now that we really need one to go through, you fuckers fucking fucked it up.
Good fucking job, you fucking mother fuckers!
Fuck.
Yes, this is a battle worth winning.
No the madness of "consumer rights" has gone far enough. THIS SOCIALIST NONSENSE MUST BE STOPPED. Manufacturers and vendors can't prosper if their property is simply given away by governments and corporations are prohibited from entangling their customers in contractual thralldom. Spoilt little children that's all, you pay for a phone and you think you have a right to use it just as you want?? What is this ... France!?
Within striking distance folks. Sign. The. Petition.
Organization? You must be joking..
No seriously. We are talking about phones on contract who have not had their subsidy paid of. ITS NOT YOUR PHONE, yet. Why should you have the right to screw with someone else's property? No different than leasing a car, or a house, or tux.. its not your stuff.
Once its paid off, its yours to do with as you please. Now of course its still the carrier's choice to let you continue to connect to their network if you violate their rules.. But its your device at that point and you can eat the damned thing if you wanted to.
Don't like being 'trapped', well, pay for the phone outright and don't ' lease' it.
Sounds like a bunch of cry babies to me.. Cake + eat at the same time.
Really, for the "Land of the Free", it's just corporations taking priority and precedence over the rights and freedoms of the people. The level of government lobbying (you know, no no not bribes, its funding!) by corporations and the rights of the free people of the USA taking a back seat... this is just another example of the free not really being free. Please sir, may I have the right to do anything I want with the phone I bought and paid for?!.. Come on people, sign that petition!
If this is anything like previous petitions, I expect the response to be farmed out to an cell phone carrier exec who will ignore the petition's content and instead talk about how much they are spending on building out their network. Bonus points if they end on a riff about how the DMCA protects consumer rights and why ACTA, SOPA, and PIPA would be great for the American public (if we could only get them passed... contact your congressperson!).
The White House doesn't make the Law. Congress does. A Whitehouse petition is useless.
I can vote in private for just about everything, but to sign this I need to sign in? No thank you.
Just a dude. Stuck in IT.
This situation is your doing...
The executive doesn't make the laws, people. Read the constitution sometime.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
Funny how many of the petitions to the White House are for things utterly outside of the power of the Executive branch
I wonder if the people signing these petitions actually think the POTUS can do anything about it. boggles the mind... they think he's a king instead of just enforcing (supposedly) the laws of the land.
Since when is the LOC or any staff thereof any kind of legislative body? Who granted them any authority to regulate, well, anything outside of the Library itself? I could understand the FCC issuing a ruling like this, as cellphones are very much within their purview, but the LOC?
What did I miss?
Cell phone, i.e. iPhone and Android Phone, are the 'Katyusha Rocket and Red Eye Shoulder Launcher' of the Mujahideen-Al Qaeda in USA.
The Executive Office and Department of Justice classify ALL USA citizens, exception given to 'trusted' Federal Employees, as 'Mujahideen-Al Qaeda in USA'. This classification makes all USA 'non Federal Trusted citizens "Enemy Ot The State" and "White House" subject to Executive Order Killing at any time.
Lovely.
Thank you O'bama.
I read the FAQ, and the only thing the whitehouse says they'll do if the petition reaches the threshold is "respond" to it, which so far seems to be little more than long-winded non-answers. I get the feeling that this is intended to keep us preoccupied with the hope they'll do something so we don't notice that they don't actually do anything.
I live in the UK, it has never come across to me that unlocking mobile phone is illegal. In fact the service providers here tend to provide instructions on how to unlock your phone. e.g. http://giffgaff.com/unlock
Lots of people are signing the petion afet the slashdot story. 1500 more signatures needed only.
Sorry, not getting the logic here, why do they lock on contract phones over there?
In Australia, in general, if you're on contract, they don't bother locking the device. They don't need to, you're on a contract. Who cares if you use another provider, they are still getting there money every month.
Pre-paid devices are nearly always locked though, as they don't have any hold over you.
Ever stop to think
under this same logic, shouldnt boring out the cylinders in my cars engine be illegal too? or doing anything to a car for that matter to increase functionality or performance. theyre all idiots, if a company really wants to try to tell their customers how they can and cant use their products after they purchase them, then F#@$ that company. dont buy their shit. plain and simple. and the people that buy their products and that are planning on altering it into the state of illegal, just go buy a better phone. screw apple and their pretentious attitude toward their customers whom they obviously think are below them.
http://xkcd.com/612/
All set, good job Slashdot
"De facto -- In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." The Library of Congress is de facto, the Librarian of Congress "power" is de facto, so this whole phone law is de facto.
Looks like Slashdot still holds some of its power. 100,000 was reached sometime this morning 2/21/2013.
Bam.
Were all too busy with the change.org petition against Oracle.
Because after 2 years (typical contract length, 1-year contracts exist but not commonly signed) you're more likely to sign a new contract for a new device, and forget to unlock it. Also if you travel outside their service area, they get to bill you for obscenely priced 'roaming' fees. Calls, texts and data jump to ridiculous rates.
TL;DR: They do it because they can get away with it, and its profitable.
It is illegal in some countries like Belgium - where I always buy my new phones. Of course the US carriers then try other tricks like "oh, your phone wasn't purchased from us, we can only give you 2G reception. It's a manufacturing problem - talk to the manufacturer" (sic)
as it is in Singapore and Belgium...
After read this information i have understood that unlocking the mobiles is illegal in USA, if the mobile is purchased after 26th of January 2013. If you want to unlock that mobile you have to contact your service provider in order to unlock it. If the mobile which are purchased before that day you can unlock it from http://www.simpleunlocking.com/ ,at low cost using the code.