dmca | Mobiles365

Phone unlocking bill passes in Senate, moves closer to restoring consumer rights

Posted on July 16, 2014 by Stephen Schenck

Right now in the US, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act prevents unauthorized unlocking of smartphone hardware for operation on another carrier. In the past, unlocking had been awarded a specific DMCA exemption, but after that rule failed to be renewed, the practice returned to illegality. Ever since, there’s been talk from multiple branches of government suggesting that a change of law needs to happen, firmly ...

The post Phone unlocking bill passes in Senate, moves closer to restoring consumer rights appeared first on Pocketnow.

DMCA Takedown Used to Attack Custom ROMs

Posted on March 13, 2013 by Stephen Schenck

The DMCA sure has been a thorn in the side of smartphone enthusiasts in the US lately, first getting a lot of attention for its role in restricting the ability for smartphone owners to carrier unlock their handsets, and now today we see it used to disrupt a number of custom ROM projects. A company called DxO Labs recently sent out a DMCA takedown notice to GitHub, requesting that files related to a number of code repositories be removed for violations under the Act. Those ...

Latest Phone Unlocking Bill Feels Pretty Weak

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Stephen Schenck

There’s been a major shift in the public perception of the DMCA’s treatment of smartphone carrier unlocking this month, and following a statement by the White House that it supported changing the existing law, we started hearing about legislation aimed at doing just that. It quickly became a hot-button topic with Congress, and we told you about one such proposal, the Wireless Device Independence Act. Now there’s a new ...

Galaxy S 4 With New AMOLED Tech, HTC One Shortages, Apple Music Streaming & More – Pocketnow Daily

Posted on March 9, 2013 by Jaime Rivera

Watch today’s Pocketnow Daily as we talk about the possible new AMOLED technology coming to the Galaxy S 4. Later we go through some more Samsung though this time we talk about how Samsung and Apple might adopt wireless charging for their next devices. Apple is next as they seem interested in music streaming, but under their rules. Then we talk about the HTC One, though sadly the news aren’t good. We end today’s show talking about how AT&T misses the point about carrier unlocks. All this and more after the break. Stories: -

AT&T’s DMCA Unlock Response Misses the Point

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Stephen Schenck

AT&T released a statement this morning on its Public Policy Blog, in response to the recent grass-roots efforts seeking legislative action to remove the DMCA prohibition on carrier-unlocking smartphones. AT&T contends that such action isn’t necessary, as the current situation permits carriers to unlock phones at their customers’ request, which AT&T says it’s more than happy to do. The problem is, that ...

Wireless Device Independence Act Could Legalize Smartphone Unlocking

Posted on March 6, 2013 by Stephen Schenck

March is sure shaping up to be a great month for proponents of smartphone users’ rights in the US. First we saw the chair of the FCC talk about supporting work towards once again legalizing end-user smartphone unlocking, and earlier this week we heard the White House throw its weight behind efforts to accomplish the same goal. In its statement, the White House mentioned seeking legislation to free unlocking from the oversight of the ...

White House Responds to Unlocking Petition, Supports Legalization

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Stephen Schenck

Smartphone owners in the United States have made their voices heard: when it comes to network-unlocking handsets, they don’t want the carriers getting the final word. While until recently, an exemption to the DMCA let users unlock their own phones without fear of legal repercussions, a recent reevaluation of those exemptions removed the protection for unlocking. In an effort to bring unlocking back, concerned users signed a petition requesting the White House to do something about the situation. After

FCC Chairman Concerned by Phone Unlocking Ban, Going to Investigate

Posted on March 1, 2013 by Stephen Schenck

You might think that rules regarding carriers locking smartphones to their networks would be the kind of thing overseen by the FCC, but the way things currently work in the US, that provision is addressed by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, with exemptions granted by the Library of Congress. After the last round of consideration removed protection for users interested in unlocking their phones, public outcry resulted in a successful petition to force the White House to discuss the issue. It turns out that FCC Chairman ...

Successful Petition to Force White House to Address Carrier Unlocking

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Stephen Schenck

Last time the United States reconsidered which exemptions it would grant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the right to carrier unlock your smartphone, previously protected under an earlier round of exemptions, was taken off the table. While jailbreaking is still kosher, you’re now only able to legally unlock your phone by asking your carrier nicely. In an effort to see this situation change, a petition was started to force the White House to, at the least, acknowledge and comment upon the situation, with ...

Want Carrier Unlocking to Be Legal? Petition Needs Your Support

Posted on February 5, 2013 by Stephen Schenck

Last month, the expiration of DMCA exemptions for protection of users choosing to unlock their smartphones vanished, after it failed to be re-approved during the most recent round of exemption considerations. We talked about just what this meant at the time, and the potential impact it could have on the mobile market. While it’s another three years before the exemption is set to be reevaluated, a petition has been underway on the White House’s We the People site asking the administration to take action before ...