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Radio News: White House Supports Unlocking Cell Phones (Audio)

Mar 05, 2013
Produced by Tom Roe. (1:35)
The White House released a response Mon., March 4 to a petition to legalize unlocking cell phones. Over 114,000 signed the peition, and R. David Edelman, a Senior Advisor for Internet, Innovation, and Privacy for the Obama administration, wrote, "We believe the same principle should also apply to tablets, which are increasingly similar to smart phones. And if you have paid for your mobile device, and aren't bound by a service agreement or other obligation, you should be able to use it on another network. It's common sense, crucial for protecting consumer choice, and important for ensuring we continue to have the vibrant, competitive wireless market that delivers innovative products and solid service to meet consumers' needs." Ina Fried in The Wall Street Journal reports Sina Khanifar, the man behind the petition to re-legalize unlocking of cellphones, now has a broader target: The Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Khanifar says that the Library of Congress used the DMCA to reason that cellphone unlocking was illegal, and that the law that needs to be changed. “I think the real culprit here is Section 1201 of the DMCA, the controversial ‘anti-circumvention provision,’” Khanifar told the newspaper. “I discussed with the White House the potential of pushing to have that provision amended or removed, and they want to continue that conversation.”