The White House Responds to Cell Phone Unlocking Petition Dylan Duarte March 5, 2013 Back in January, the Librarian of Congress removed the exception in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act that allowed consumers to unlock cell phones without fear of legal punishment, making the act illegal. These didn’t go over well with consumers, who believe that once you purchase and own a cell phone, you should be able to do with it as you please. A White House petition was soon born on their We the People website and it quickly received the appropriate number of signatures to warrant a response, and the White House has responded. It’s a lengthy response, one you can read in full right here, but the gist is this: they agree with you, the FCC agrees with you, and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration agrees with you. The NTIA and the FCC are looking into it and the White House is encouraging mobile providers to tailor their businesses towards helping consumers. The White House also looks forward to continuing to work with Congress and the mobile industry on technological issues. So it was more or less a bunch of political speak. Obviously time will tell if anything comes of it, but there weren’t any concrete announcements in the way of action being done. Share This With The World!
