President Obama signed the "Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act" (S.517) into law, making it legal to unlock a cell phone once again.
The bill reverses a decision made by the Library of Congress two years ago, saying it was illegal for consumers to "unlock" cellphones to use for other networks without permission from their service providers, according to CBS News. Verizon, AT&T and other providers would be able to legally keep a consumer's phone "locked," which would force the consumer to pay high costs to switch carriers or link to other carriers overseas while traveling.
The White House had previously received a petition with more than 114,000 signatures asking the president to support a bill that legalizes cellphone unlocking. The Administration responded that the White House agrees with the petition and also supports unlocking tablets and other portable devices.
"This bill ensures that consumers will be able to do what they rightfully expect to be able to do with phones they have purchased: use them on whatever network they like," Laura Moy, an attorney at advocacy group Public Knowledge, said after last week's votes for the billand. "It protects consumers who unlock their devices from possible criminal and civil liability under an overreaching copyright law known as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which was designed to protect copyright, but has had enormous unintended consequences."
Politicians and consumer groups supporting the new law have said it will help promote consumers choice in the wireless market because consumers are able to take their phones to different carriers. However, taking any phone to any wireless carrier in the U.S. still has its limits, CNET reported.
"Even though the vast majority of Americans enjoy upgrading to new devices once their contract terms are fulfilled, we recognize that some consumers may want to unlock their devices to move to another carrier," said Joe Carpenter, vice president of government affairs at the wireless industry's lobbyist group CTIA. "Like the voluntary commitment CTIA's carriers entered into last December, this bill enables that process. Users should keep in mind unlocked does not necessarily mean interoperable, as carrier platforms and spectrum holdings vary."
The Library of Congress still has the authority to determine whether consumer choice in cellphone unlocking will be legal next year. At that time, the Copyright Office will have the ability to restore the ban, CBS News reported.
However, the bill is believed to be a step in the right direction by many, such as Tom Wheeler, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, who earlier this year made a deal with huge wireless carriers to let people unlock their cell phones, CNET reported.
"This new law is a positive development that addresses the issue that triggered unlocking concerns in the first place," Wheeler said. "When the wireless industry worked with the FCC on a voluntary agreement to unlock devices when consumers' contracts have been fulfilled, they took an important step forward. The president's signature today makes greater consumer choice the law of the land."
