White House petition to make SIM UnLocking legal has reached its 100000 signatures goal. So now US Government officially need to respond to the petition as site states, “White House staff will review it, ensure it’s sent to the appropriate policy experts, and issue an official response.” But it doesn’t mean that now unlocking will be legal or any action should be action taken.
In January a new US federal policy went into action which states that certain mobile phones could not be unlocked legally. Citizens doing so would be in violation of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act. After this Sina Khanifar, initiated the petition and today he said to Android Authority that many infamous, influential people or corporations supports his petition which include Anonymous, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and a few members of the U.S. House of Representatives, among others. He further quoted to another source that, “I think the petition is helping create awareness on this issue, It just shows that people are really interested and motivated by this. This is part of a process of getting the word out there and helping convince [lawmakers] that this is something people care about.”
You can checkout the petition filed by Sina Khanifar and presented to the White House:
WE PETITION THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION TO:
Make Unlocking Cell Phones Legal.The Librarian of Congress decided in October 2012 that unlocking of cell phones would be removed from the exceptions to the DMCA.
As of January 26, consumers will no longer be able unlock their phones for use on a different network without carrier permission, even after their contract has expired.
Consumers will be forced to pay exorbitant roaming fees to make calls while traveling abroad. It reduces consumer choice, and decreases the resale value of devices that consumers have paid for in full.
The Librarian noted that carriers are offering more unlocked phones at present, but the great majority of phones sold are still locked.
We ask that the White House ask the Librarian of Congress to rescind this decision, and failing that, champion a bill that makes unlocking permanently legal.
So now the Obama administration will have to respond. Stay connected for More.
Source: Petitions White House
