As of Saturday, January 26, 2013, it is illegal to unlock your cell phone for use on a different carrier. It is not illegal to jailbreak a device however.
http://empoweringtheblind.com Empowering the blind, one step at a time. On Jan 27, 2013, at 11:39 PM, Teresa Cochran <vegaspipistre...@gmail.com> wrote: > 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. > To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > macvisionaries+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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