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White House Petition To Make Unlocking Phones Legal Passes 100,000 Signatures

Posted by timothy on from the one-view-of-freedom-of-choice dept.

An anonymous reader writes "A White House petition to make unlocking cell phones legal again has passed the 100,000 signature mark. Passing the milestone means the U.S. government has to issue an official response. 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.'"

5 of 317 comments (clear)

  1. 2nd story about how cell copmanies suck today. by F34nor · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Break them up or replace them with a state run monopoly. Discuss.

    1. Re:2nd story about how cell copmanies suck today. by keytoe · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Because state-run monopolies are famous for low prices, excellent customer service, and being at the forefront of technological advance.

      My utilities board is a 'state run monopoly' and does a fantastic job of keeping prices low, customer service responsive and is constantly looking at new technical ways to save me even more money. They provide incentives to motivate people to adopt higher efficiency heating and insulation, driving overall demand down and reducing the environmental footprint of the entire community. A private company would have no incentive whatsoever to do any of that.

      I guess I don't see the advantage to having a corrupt corporation not looking out for me over a corrupt government not looking out for me. I can't change the corporation, but I can at least try to change the government. Both options seem to have roughly the same success rate overall, so why not support the one that gives me a voice?

      --

      Culture is more than commerce

  2. We should not need a petition by betterunixthanunix · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Why is the government protecting a business model that is based on selling equipment at a loss?

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    Palm trees and 8
  3. Option 3 by betterunixthanunix · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Create a new amateur license class, that allows individuals to run 4g networks; encourage cooperatives, meshes, and other citizen-run communications systems. Give the spectrum the carriers have to the people and let us manage our communications without relying on monopolies.

    --
    Palm trees and 8
    1. Re:Option 3 by Alien+Being · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I think we need a new reality tv show where, each week, a leading corporate or government scumbag gets dragged into Times Square and bludgeoned by the public at large.