Today, President Obama will sign a bill into law that The White House calls “a win for American consumers, a win for wireless competition, and an example of democracy at its best.” It’s the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition…
Cellphone Unlocking Bill Passes House, Heads to Obama’s Desk
The House has unanimously passed legislation, unanimously passed last week in the Senate, that will once again make it legal for consumers to unlock their cellphones. “With today’s House passage of the bipartisan Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act,…
Cellphone Unlocking Bill Passes Senate, Heads to House
Late Tuesday, the Senate passed the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act with a unanimous vote. The bill, introduced by Democratic Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy, reverses a Library of Congress decision regarding DMCA exemptions and would once again make…
Cellphone Unlocking Bill Passes Senate Committee
A Senate bill to reverse a Library of Congress decision and make unlocking your cellphone legal again has passed the Judiciary Committee. In January of last year, unlocking new cellphones became illegal via a decision from the Library of Congress.…
House Judiciary Committee Votes In Favor Of Cellphone Unlocking
Should you be able to unlock your cellphone? Over 100,000 Americans and the White House certainly think so. Some members of Congress think so as well, and the House-backed legislation that would legalize cellphone unlocking is one step closer to…
FCC Chairman Nominee Supports Cell Phone Unlocking
Tom Wheeler, the man President Obama has nominated to be the next FCC chairman, has something in common with a lot of Americans. He believes that they have the right to unlock their cell phones after a two-year contract is…
Wireless Carriers Back Worthless Cellphone Unlocking Bill
Should you be able to unlock your cellphone? Wireless carriers used to not think so, but now the industry’s lobbying group seems to be fine with it as long as the bill is worthless. The Hill reports that the wireless…
House To Hold Hearing On Worthless Cellphone Unlocking Bill Next Week
Pretty much everybody in Washington agrees with the common man – you should be able to unlock your cellphone without fear of repercussion. Where we tend to disagree is how to go about doing this. Unfortunately, the House has decided…
Does Congress Even Understand The Cell Phone Unlocking Debate?
You should have the right to unlock your cell phone. Any reasonable person would agree that it should be a basic consumer right. The problem is how one goes about making cell phone unlocking legal. Lawmakers have come forward with…
Sen. Patrick Leahy’s Cellphone Unlocking Bill Is A Temporary Fix For A Broken DMCA
Cellphone unlocking has become a top priority in Washington since the White House threw its support behind the movement. Now it’s up to senators to pass the legislation required to permanently add an exemption to the DMCA. The latest bill…
Smartphone Unlocking Bill To Be Introduced In The Senate
In a statement released yesterday, The White House said that it sides with the 100,000 plus people who signed a petition asking that they able to unlock their smartphones. Having the support of The White House is great, but not…
White House: “It’s Time to Legalize Cell Phone Unlocking”
Less than two weeks after a petition on the We The People site crossed the 100,000 signature threshold, the White House has issued on official response on making cellphone unlocking legal again. And they totally support it. In a statement…
FCC Will ‘Look at’ the Illegal Phone Unlocking Issue
After gaining a lot of traction on the internet, the current illegality of unlocking cellphones will receive a federal investigation. Back in January, the Library of Congress decided that the unlocking of cellphones would no longer reside on the exemptions…
Petition to Make Unlocking Phones Legal Again Crosses Signature Threshold
A petition to make unlocking cellphones legal again has crossed the signature threshold on the White House’s We The People petition site, meaning that it will receive an official response. Back in January, unlocking new cellphones became illegal via decision…
AT&T to Unlock Contract-Expired iPhones
AT&T has just announced that it will begin unlocking off-contract iPhones once the initial 2-year contracts customers’ sign up for expire. The new practice will allow currently-locked Apple devices to use micro-SIM cards from different carriers on networks compatible with…