subject: Is Unlocking My Mobile Phone Legal? [print this page] We get asked all the time, 'Is unlocking my cellphone illegal?'.
Some will argue, I purchased the phone, so it's mine, I can do whatever I want with it. I can use it however I want to. Others may counter that the phone is actually under restriction by the manufacturer or the carrier, and they only allow those that purchase it to use it the way it was intended, with the carrier specified at purchase.
We don't like to go back and forth with the opinions and hearsay, we would rather give you the specifics of the law. You can then see for yourself and feel comfortable knowing the details of the situation.
So, is unlocking your phone legal? In short....yes.
To understand the legality of jailbreaking or unlocking your phone, a quick primer on DMCA is in order. On October 12, 1998, the U.S. Congress passed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), ending many months of heated negotiations and campaigning from many interested parties. Two weeks later, on October 28th, President Clinton signed the Act into law. The bill essentially does many things, and some of the highlights are:
* Makes it a crime to circumvent anti-piracy measures built into most commercial software we use everyday
* Outlaws the sale, manufacture or distribution of code-cracking devices used to illegally copy software
* Provides exemptions from anti-circumvention provisions for nonprofit libraries, archives, and educational institutions under certain circumstances- other exceptions where later added to this law
The usual suspects where on both sides of the argument. Software and entertainment companies were begging for the bill, thought it was going to stifle innovation. We'll leave that debate to those good at debating endlessly. We are more interested with how the actual bill impacts those wanting to unlock their phones. To address this, we look at one word in the last bullet point above...the word is 'exceptions'. Additional exceptions was added in 2006 that are paramount to this question of legality. One of them is as follows:
"Computer programs in the form of firmware that enable wireless telephone handsets to connect to a wireless telephone communication network, when circumvention is accomplished for the sole purpose of lawfully connecting to a wireless telephone communication network."
Essentially, if the sole purpose of circumventing the current provider, is to lawfully connect to a telephone network (another carrier) then the unlocking or circumvention is legal. So, unless you are unlocking your phone with the intent to use it for something other than connecting to a telephone network, your in good shape.
