illegal

Two 'illegal' stories January 2013 - July 2014

Bill allowing smartphone unlocking approved by the House of Representatives, set to become law

After the decision last year to make unlocking smartphone and tablet devices illegal, the US House of Representatives today voted yes to allow the practice to become legal once again. This is already the second time the government has voted on this issue, as just a few weeks ago the US Senate approved the legislation to move on to the House. The final step in getting the law approved is the President’s signature, which should come with little delay as he has already spoken out in favor of the bill.

Jailbreak, 6.1 release rumors swirl as unlocks become ‘illegal’ tomorrow

Although the decision was made by the Librarian of Congress in October to make unlocking cellphones illegal, tomorrow marks the end of a 90-day grace period when the new rule will officially go into effect. As noted by TechNewsDaily, the policy will not apply to devices purchased before tomorrow or change unlocking policies for carriers. However, the policy will make it illegal for end users to unlock new devices they purchase. It will still be possible to buy an unlocked iPhone direct from Apple, while Verizon iPhones come unlocked out of the box, and AT&T will continue unlocking devices off contract. Several users have taken to Twitter to voice their concerns about the new law.

While iPhone hackers might have some issues with unlocking going forward, tomorrow could mark the release of iOS 6.1GM to developers. That could also mean a release of an iOS 6 jailbreak…

[tweet https://twitter.com/9to5mac/status/294537936479866882]
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