DMCA update shuts down new phone unlocking next year, allows rooting (but not for tablets)
Author: Brittany Turner
When Congress didst layeth its blessing on the jailbreaking and rooting of all manner of gadgets, the hacking neighborhood saw the wonder and rejoiced. However that amendment to the DMCA 2 years ago was simply a short-term exemption and the Electronic Frontier Foundation has actually been strongly lobbying to get it reinstated. The Library of Congress has actually now done simply that with a new 3 year extension, however with some significant cautions: After 90 days, unlocking of new phones will be verboten and all tablet mods will still be illegal. This differs from the 2010 decision which did allow unlocking, since the Librarian decided that a current copyright ruling means reasonable use guidelines not apply to a phone’s OS. It additionally stated the exception isn’t needed anymore because carrier rules pertaining to unlocking are now more liberal– although the lawmaker could be confounding chick with egg by that reasoning.
Filed under: Cell phones, Tablets, MobileDMCA update
shuts down new phone unlocking next year, allows rooting (but not for tablets) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Oct 2012 08:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for usage of feeds.
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