For those who may have missed the news, it became illegal to unlock your smartphone as of January 26. That change in the law came as a result of tweaks that were made to the DMCA back in October 2012. Of course, since the time when this became illegal we have seen everything from petitions to talk coming from the FCC chairman.
The FCC chairman had said that the “ban raises competition concerns; it raises innovation concerns” and that is “something that we will look at at the FCC to see if we can and should enable consumers to use unlocked phones.” Well, while this hasn’t changed just yet, Senator Amy Klobuchar has officially introduced legislation that will make unlocking your cell phone legal (again).
Klobuchar is out of Minnesota and is said to have joined forces with Utah Republican Mike Lee and Connecticut Democrat Richard Blumenthal. Together they have introduced the Wireless Consumer Choice Act which is asking the FCC to take action. Further support has also come from Rep. Anna Eshoo, a California Democrat.
We haven’t seen any mention in regards to whether this bill deals with the specific points of whether or not you have purchased that phone (and are still) under agreement with the carrier. Basically, it looks like we still have some details to figure out, however Sens. Blumenthal and Klobuchar will reportedly be holding a hearing with the FCC on March 12.
[via PC Mag]
