I'm confused. As far as I'm aware, unlocking and jailbreaking are entirely different processes. Unlocking allows you to use a phone with a different carrier. Jailbreaking is a modification of the software on Iphones to provide various features that aren't native to IOS. I don't get how someone would know the phone is jailbroken, but it could be determined if phones on unlocked, since they use carriers. So which is it that's illegal?
Teresa Visualize whirled peas. On Jan 27, 2013, at 10:27 PM, "David Tanner" <david.tanner...@gmail.com> wrote: > No, it isn’t. I actually heard about it first on the evening news last > Friday evening. It is true, and I guess there can be fines and possibly jail > time after multiple repeated occurances. > > > > From: macvisionaries@googlegroups.com > [mailto:macvisionaries@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Christopher-Mark Gilland > Sent: Monday, January 28, 2013 12:24 AM > To: macvisionaries@googlegroups.com > Subject: Re: [IDevices] It's Now Illegal to Unlock Your Phone > > This is ludicrus! For one thing, it states in this mail that we're > grandfathered in if we already unlocked. Hmm, G, so how do they know if we > did it a year ago, or if we did it just now? And how would they prove it? > I'm sorry, but I'm calling a bullshit on this one. I'm not saying you, as > the sender of this message to the list are wrong, but I wonder if this is > actually a hoax. > > Chris Gilland. > Founder of CLG Productions > http://www.clgproductions.com > E-mail: ch...@clgproductions.com > Phone: 803-760-7136 > Toll-Free: 1-888-405-3185 > Mon-Fri 8A.M-5P.M Eastern Standard Time except weekends and holidays. > ----- Original Message ----- > From: David Tanner > To: macvisionaries@googlegroups.com > Sent: Monday, January 28, 2013 1:08 AM > Subject: FW: [IDevices] It's Now Illegal to Unlock Your Phone > > > > From: IDevices [mailto:idevices-boun...@gatewayfortheblind.com] On Behalf Of > Trish Zoellers Scott > Sent: Sunday, January 27, 2013 11:27 AM > To: Gateway IOS Devices > Subject: [IDevices] It's Now Illegal to Unlock Your Phone > > > > > From > http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/now-illegal-unlock-cellphone/story?id=18319 > 518 > By JOANNA STERN > > You likely have a cellphone that you bought from a carrier, like AT&T, > Verizon or Sprint, and that phone only works on that carrier's cellular and > data network -- unless you "unlock" it. > > That is a software process that allows the phone to work on other carriers > if you put in a new SIM card or want to take the phone to another carrier > for service. > > If that sounds complicated to you and like something you wouldn't bother > with, then today's news won't matter to you. But if that's something you've > done before or have thought about doing, then you should know that starting > today it is illegal to unlock a subsidized phone or tablet that's bought > through a U.S. carrier. > > Why now? Starting today, the U.S. Copyright Office and Library of Congress > are no longer allowing phone unlocking as an exemption under the Digital > Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). > > You can read the full docket here but, in short, it is illegal to unlock a > phone from a carrier unless you have that carrier's permission to do so. If > you're wondering what this has to do with copyright, it turns out not much. > > "It wasn't a good ruling," Rebecca Jeschke, a digital rights analyst at the > Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), told ABC News. "You should be able to > unlock your phone. This law was meant to combat copyright infringement, not > to prevent people to do what they want to do with the device they bought." > > Of course, the carriers prefer the new rule because it ties your phone to > their network. U.S. cellular carriers sell phones at a subsidized or > discounted rate with a contract. You pay the network for service on a > monthly basis and they give you the phone for a cheaper price than it > actually is worth. > > When it was legal, people may have unlocked their phone to resell it when > they upgraded to a newer model or to use it with an overseas carrier and > take advantage of local rates when they traveled abroad. > > If your phone has already been unlocked, you are grandfathered in and won't > face any legal issues. But what could happen if you unlocked your phone now > that it's illegal? > > "Violations of the DMCA [unlocking your phone] may be punished with a civil > suit or, if the violation was done for commercial gain, it may be prosecuted > as a criminal act," Brad Shear, a Washington, D.C.-area attorney and blogger > who is an expert on social media and technology law, told ABC News. "A > carrier may sue for actual damages or for statutory damages." > > The worst-case scenario for an individual or civil offense could be as much > as a $2,500 fine. As for those planning to profit off of the act or a > criminal offense -- such as a cellphone reseller -- the fine could be as > high as $500,000 and include prison time. > > "I don't see carriers going aggressively after people, but bottom line is > that I would not recommend violating this provision of the law," Shear said. > > Jeschke said that the EFF hasn't heard of anybody who faced legal action > during an earlier period when it was illegal to unlock phones in the U.S. > before a prior rule change made it legal several years ago. > > In 2015, there will be another rule making over the exemptions and, > according to Jeschke, the question of the legality or illegality of > unlocking a phone will likely be revisited. > > "It's unfortunate that the copyright office walked back this exemption to > the DMCA, but the carriers are already shipping unlocked devices like the > iPhone 5, so the impact on average consumers won't be too bad," said Nilay > Patel, a former patent attorney and managing editor of The Verge. > > Apple and Verizon offer an unlocked iPhone 5 for $649.00 and the Nexus 4 is > available for $299.99 right from Google and T-Mobile. > > Or, if you're really upset with the latest rule change, you can sign a "We > the People" petition on the White House's website that calls for the > Librarian of Congress to "rescind this decision, and failing that, champion > a bill that makes unlocking permanently legal." > > ### > > > -- > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "MacVisionaries" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To post to this group, send email tomacvisionar...@googlegroups.com. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "MacVisionaries" group. > To post to this group, send email tomacvisionar...@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email > tomacvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "MacVisionaries" group. > To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email > tomacvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. 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