White House Supports Petition To Legalize Cell Phone Unlocking [FULL TEXT]

The petition to make cell phone unlocking legal again has achieved its biggest milestone yet: official support from the White House.

After the Copyright Office and Library of Congress removed the DMCA exemption for unlocking cell phones in November, anyone unlocking a new cell phone or providing unlocking services after Jan. 26 could risk up to five years of jail time – for each offense. On Jan. 24, San Francisco native Sina Khanifar created a “We The People” petition via WhiteHouse.gov to make cell phone locking legal again, and just two days before the petition’s Feb. 23 deadline, the petition passed the all-important 100,000 signatures mark, which meant the U.S. government would be required to issue an official response.

The White House issued its official response to the cell phone unlocking petition on Monday, which was written by R. David Edelman, the White House’s senior adviser for Internet, Innovation & Privacy.

“The White House agrees with the 114,000+ of you who believe that consumers should be able to unlock their cell phones without risking criminal or other penalties,” Edelman said. “In fact, 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.”

The White House said all consumers “deserve” the flexibility of activating a mobile device – including those received as gifts – on another network to best meet your needs, “even if it isn’t the one on which the device was first activated.”

Edelman said the White House respects the law that allows the Librarian of Congress “to establish or eliminate exceptions,” but adds that the White House and Library of Congress “agree that the DMCA exception process is a rigid and imperfect fit for this telecommunications issue, and we want to ensure this particular challenge for mobile competition is solved.”

The White House said it supports “a range of approaches to addressing this issue,” which would include making slight tweaks to the legislature surrounding the telecommunications space to disallow any kind of preventative measures to keep customers from switching carriers when they’re not bound by a service agreement. But Edelman also urges on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which is currently investigating the cell phone unlocking ban on its own independent basis, to play a bigger role in promoting mobile competition and innovation.

“FCC Chairman Genachowski today voiced his concern about mobile phone unlocking (.pdf), and to complement his efforts, NTIA will be formally engaging with the FCC as it addresses this urgent issue,” The White House said.

The White House also encouraged mobile carriers and providers to examine their own businesses and find better ways to attract customers to their networks and their devices.

“We look forward to continuing to work with Congress, the wireless and mobile phone industries, and most importantly you -- the everyday consumers who stand to benefit from this greater flexibility -- to ensure our laws keep pace with changing technology, protect the economic competitiveness that has led to such innovation in this space, and offer consumers the flexibility and freedoms they deserve,” The White House said.

Read the full text from the White House response to the cell phone unlocking petition here:

It's Time to Legalize Cell Phone Unlocking

By R. David Edelman

Thank you for sharing your views on cell phone unlocking with us through your petition on our We the People platform. Last week the White House brought together experts from across government who work on telecommunications, technology, and copyright policy, and we're pleased to offer our response.

The White House agrees with the 114,000+ of you who believe that consumers should be able to unlock their cell phones without risking criminal or other penalties. In fact, 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.

This is particularly important for secondhand or other mobile devices that you might buy or receive as a gift, and want to activate on the wireless network that meets your needs -- even if it isn't the one on which the device was first activated. All consumers deserve that flexibility.

The White House's position detailed in this response builds on some critical thinking done by the President's chief advisory Agency on these matters: the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). For more context and information on the technical aspects of the issue, you can review the NTIA's letter to the Library of Congress' Register of Copyrights (.pdf), voicing strong support for maintaining the previous exception to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) for cell phone carrier unlocking.

Contrary to the NTIA's recommendation, the Librarian of Congress ruled that phones purchased after January of this year would no longer be exempted from the DMCA. The law gives the Librarian the authority to establish or eliminate exceptions -- and we respect that process. But it is also worth noting the statement the Library of Congress released today on the broader public policy concerns of the issue. Clearly the White House and Library of Congress agree that the DMCA exception process is a rigid and imperfect fit for this telecommunications issue, and we want to ensure this particular challenge for mobile competition is solved.

So where do we go from here?

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.

We also believe the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), with its responsibility for promoting mobile competition and innovation, has an important role to play here. FCC Chairman Genachowski today voiced his concern about mobile phone unlocking (.pdf), and to complement his efforts, NTIA will be formally engaging with the FCC as it addresses this urgent issue.

Finally, we would encourage mobile providers to consider what steps they as businesses can take to ensure that their customers can fully reap the benefits and features they expect when purchasing their devices.

We look forward to continuing to work with Congress, the wireless and mobile phone industries, and most importantly you -- the everyday consumers who stand to benefit from this greater flexibility -- to ensure our laws keep pace with changing technology, protect the economic competitiveness that has led to such innovation in this space, and offer consumers the flexibility and freedoms they deserve.

R. David Edelman is Senior Adviser for Internet, Innovation, & Privacy