Unlocking Your Cell Phone Ruled Illegal, White House Disagrees

Posted on Mar 4th 2013

You likely have a cell phone or tablet that you bought from a carrier, like AT&T or T-Mobile, which only works on that carrier's cellular and data network -- unless you "unlock" it.

Unlocking 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. Many users unlock their phones when they want to resell them, travel abroad, or simply avoid a long-term contract with a carrier.

Beginning Jan. 26, a new federal rule made it illegal to unlock a subsidized phone or tablet that's bought through a U.S. carrier. The U.S. Office and Library of Congress is the governmental body responsible for the ruling, which disallowed phone unlocking as an exemption under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

An online uproar ensued, including a petition to the White House that garnered more than 100,000 signatures asking that the decision be reversed and legislation introduced that would make unlocking cell phones permanently legal.

On Monday March 4 the White House issued a formal response to the petition, stating that "The Obama Administration would support a range of approaches to addressing this issue, including narrow legislative fixes in the telecommunications space that make it clear: neither criminal law nor technological locks should prevent consumers from switching carriers when they are no longer bound by a service agreement or other obligation."

Last week, Federal Communications Commission chairman Julius Genachowski vowed to investigate the new rule, and said “[the] ban raises competition concerns; it raises innovation concerns.”

If your phone has already been unlocked you are grandfathered in and won't face any legal issues. But what could happen if you unlock 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 cell phone reseller -- the fine could be as high as $500,000 and include prison time.

For this reason, we suggest you avoid attempting to unlock a recently purchased or subsidized phone. We will continue to monitor this issue and keep you posted on any new legislative developments that may change this rule.