• by Wendy Davis , Staff Writer @wendyndavis, August 1, 2014

President Barack Obama today signed a bill restoring consumers' right to “unlock” their cell phones.

The Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act makes clear that people don't commit a crime when they unlock their phones, even if doing so requires tinkering with the digital rights management software that comes bundled with the devices.

When consumers unlock their cell phones, the devices can be used on any compatible network, not simply the network the phone was originally bundled with. People who purchase used phones, or who travel abroad, often want to unlock the devices.

Until January of 2013 consumers clearly had the right to unlock their phones. But a change in regulations, which took effect that year, theoretically subjected people who unlocked phones to the risk of criminal prosecution.

That's because the Librarian of Congress recently changed course regarding unlocking. Every three years, the Librarian of Congress issues exceptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's anti-circumvention provisions, which prohibit removing digital locks. In the past, the Copyright Office granted an exemption that allowed people to unlock cell phones.

 

But in 2012, the authorities decided to allow the unlocking exemption -- first granted in 2006 -- to expire. The official report said the exemption wasn't necessary because "the marketplace has evolved such that there is now a wide array of unlocked phone options available to consumers."

The upshot was that people who unlocked their cell phones after January of 2013 faced a theoretical risk of criminal prosecution.

The move drew immediate protests from consumers and advocacy groups. By March of 2013, the White House announced that it supported ending restrictions on unlocking. Later that year, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler convinced the wireless industry to issue a self-regulatory code allowing consumers to unlock their devices.

Advocacy group Public Knowledge cheered today's news that the unlocking measure was enacted. "This law is going to make it much easier for consumers to switch from one carrier to another. As a result, competition in the wireless market will improve,” staff attorney Laura Moy said in a statement.

At the same time, the group points out that there is still a fundamental problem with the DMCA's restrictions on removing digital locks: People can want to remove digital locks for entirely legitimate reasons that have nothing to do with copyright infringement.

For that reason, Public Knowledge says it continues to back Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) proposed bill allowing people to circumvent digital rights management software, provided they aren't doing so in order to infringe copyright. “This could apply to consumer products that all Americans use, ranging from cars to tractors to hearing aids,” Moy stated. “We hope the House will take up the Lofgren bill soon."