(http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/03/att-padlock-lead.jpg) (http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/07/bipartisan-bill-to-re-legalize-cellphone-unlocking-introduced/)
We should have known that it wouldn't take long for someone in congress to take up the fight to re-legalize cellphone unlocking (http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/20/engadget-primed-phone-unlock/). Those championing the effort on the floor of the Senate are Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) , Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Mike Lee (R-UT) who introduced the Wireless Consumer Choice Act this afternoon. After the Librarian of Congress declared that unlocking a cellphone violated copyright law (http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/26/unlock-phone-exemption-ends/) under the DMCA (that's Digital Millennium Copyright Act) activists kicked into high gear in an attempt to prevent or reverse the decision. Consumer advocates quickly collected 100,000 signatures (http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/21/unlock-petition-we-the-people/) on a petition, forcing the White House to take a position on the matter. To the relief of many, including the globe trotters and ROM fanatics here at Engadget, President Obama backed our right (http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/04/white-house-phone-unlock/) to circumvent carrier locks -- within reason, of course. This is after FCC chairman Julius Genachowski (http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/01/fcc-chairman-on-unlocking-policy/) voiced concerns that the ban could hamper competition and innovation.
Anna Eshoo, a Democrat from California, is pushing a similar bill in the House of representatives, but its the bipartisan senate version that seems to be garnering the most attention. In a statement Blumenthal called the legislation "common sense, crucial for protecting consumer choice and important for ensuring healthy competition in the market." Obviously this is just the beginning of a long long journey and all the sponsors can do is hope and pray their sad little scrap of paper will one day become a law.
Update: It turns out that there's another bill (http://fixthedmca.us6.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=b54b9ae6ea&id=2ea6cdcd27&e=f6b83d4644) that has been introduced in the Senate as well, penned by Oregon senator Rob Wyden.
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Source: AllThingsD (http://allthingsd.com/20130307/bill-introduced-to-re-legalize-cell-phone-unlocking/)
Via: Engadget