In October 2012 the Library of Congress’s Copyright Office made a decision which gave consumers 90 days to unlock their handsets without carrier permission, and in January cellphone unlocking became illegal. This was followed by a petition to the White House which got over 114,000 signatures and the response also came. Now, a bill has been proposed by a US senator to legalize phone unlocking for using it on other networks.

Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, said via Twitter, “You bought it, you should be able to use it. My Wireless Device Independence Act ensures you can unlock your device“. The proposed bill is for amending Section 1201(a)(1)(B) of title 17 of the United States Code which deals with circumvention of copyright protection systems.

And more responses have come in:

Rep. Anna Eshoo, a California Democrat: “The ban on unlocking cell phones puts consumers in the back seat when it comes to choosing the mobile device and service that best suits them. Competition and consumer choice are equally fundamental to a vibrant mobile marketplace, which is why I intend to introduce legislation eliminating the ban on unlocking cell phones and other mobile devices“.

Sen. Patrick Leahy: “I agree with the Administration that consumers should have the flexibility to use their devices on any network they choose, provided they comply with the terms of service. I intend to work in a bipartisan, bicameral fashion to restore users’ ability to unlock their phones and provide them with the choice and freedom that we have all come to expect in the digital era“.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz: “You own the phone, you should be able to unlock it“.

FCC: “The FCC is examining this issue, looking into whether the agency, wireless providers, or others should take action to preserve consumers’ ability to unlock their mobile phones. I also encourage Congress to take a close look and consider a legislative solution“.

What are your thoughts on the matter?

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The official White House response to the petition, as written by Senior Advisor R. David Edelman, is that it “agrees with the 114,000+ of you who believe that consumers should be able to unlock their cell phones without risking criminal or other penalties. In fact, we believe the same principle should also apply to tablets, which are increasingly similar to smart phones.”

That’s good news. How is it, then, that the White House allowed that unlocking ban to come into effect in the first place? Edelman explains that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) voiced “strong support for maintaining the previous exception to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) for cell phone carrier unlocking,” but the Librarian of Congress eliminated that exception anyway. And the White House recognizes that the Librarian of Congress has the legal right to do that.

With all sorts of other things going on in the country and abroad, it’s understandable that this issue is pretty low on the priority list for the Obama Administration. That said, they do recognize it and they would “support a range of approaches,” specifically stating that the FCC “has an important role to play here.” Nothing has changed yet, but at least the petition has made a blip on the radar. Obama hears you.

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Late last year, a bill passed that effectively banned the aftermarket unlocking of cell phones if they were not done by the original carrier. This went into law earlier this year and mobile enthusiasts were none too happy about it. After all, I paid for this phone, I signed a lengthy contract, I should be able to do with this phone whatever I want. If I want to pay an early cancellation fee and move to another carrier, I should have that freedom. And at least 100,000 people agree.

The petition reached the minimum threshold just in time and now the White House must offer an official response regarding making the unlocking of cell phones legal again. The unlocking cell phone petition page seems to be down at the moment and we’re not really sure why, but it did reach the necessary minimum. The White House is going to keep its word, isn’t it?

Remember that this doesn’t mean the Obama administration is compelled to lift the unlocking ban; it just means they have to give us a thoughtful response. That’s something, I guess.

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The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) has not sparked too many protests compared to SOPA and PIPA, but it is certainly a reality and the US House of Representatives has passed the bill by a vote of 248-168.

But the result has not come as a surprise as there have been no major US corporations opposing CISPA. Although there were protests from advocate groups such as Demand Progress, Sum of Us and the Center for Democracy & Technology, no major technology corporations have come out against the controversial bill like the way Facebook, Reddit, Wikipedia and others did against SOPA.

But it is unlikely that the bill would clear the Senate. On Tuesday, a statement from the White House condemned the legislation and on Wednesday, President Obama threatened to veto it saying that the bill “fails to provide authorities to ensure that the nation’s core critical infrastructure is protected while repealing important provisions” of privacy law.

Just to refresh your memory, CISPA will allow Internet companies and the US government to share information with each other for protecting and defending themselves against cyber attacks. That means that the government can get access to web users’ private data if a cyber threat is suspected. That’s certainly against Americans’ privacy rights.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) said that the bill is “needed to prepare for countries like Iran and North Korea so that they don’t do something catastrophic to our networks here in America”.

But according to David Segal, executive director of Demand Progress, “Congress needs to wake up and respect Americans’ growing concern about increased corporate and government control of the Internet. We applaud President Obama’s veto threat, and urge members of the House to oppose CISPA, even while supporting amendments that would provide greater privacy protections. The Internet is ever more important to the functioning of our society, and more and more Americans are prepared to vote against politicians who interfere with Internet freedom“.

Head here to take a peek at the full version of the bill.

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