[Bobboau]

but the minimal amount of effort to sign and how ****ty of a law this is
sign it

[el_magnifico]

Can't you buy them directly from the manufacturer?

[sigtau]

Yeah, but that's generally more expensive.  Under the Library of Congress's decision, if you wanted to switch carries, you'd have to buy a new phone with that carrier instead of just taking your old one to the new carrier, regardless of whether your contract is expired or not.  'Murican corporatism at its finest.

Everyone sign this.

[Aardwolf]

Dislike lack of meaningful description in OP. Plz fix, Bobb.

[Nuke]

keep hardware hard!*

* useful advise for fighting the machine/boning women.

[Bobboau]

if you just hover over the link and look at the url you should get a good enough idea of what this is about.

[Klaustrophobia]

I can't say that i agree with the petition.  If the carrier is selling you the phone (usually at a drastically reduced price from retail as part of the contract), they are well within their rights to lock it into their service.  If you don't like that, you have several options.  Buy one that isn't locked out from a different carrier/source, hack it anyway and assume whatever risks are involved, research ahead of time and do your best to pick a carrier that you will stay with, or my personal favorite, don't use a smartphone at all. 

[666maslo666]

This is something that should be between the customer and the carrier, no forced by law. I tend to disagree with this petition.

[666maslo666]

However, upon further googling, the issue here is that unlocking a cellphone is a crime, not just a breach of contract. That is indeed wrong!

[Bobboau]

yeah, you already get charged several hundred dollars for closing your contract early.

[Nuke]

my phone was made in the 60s. i never use it. i can switch providers whenever i want and dont need to buy a new one. i can take it apart and modify it and it wont void any licenses (there arent any). that makes my phone superior to all the other new fangled tiny slabs of silicon you all use.

[watsisname]

The hipster, it hips!

[Klaustrophobia]

However, upon further googling, the issue here is that unlocking a cellphone is a crime, not just a breach of contract. That is indeed wrong!

are you sure about that?  but even if so, this petition is about forcing carriers by law to allow unlocking, not just removing it from the books as a crime.

[BengalTiger]

So I changed my phone and operator last summer.

I got a phone for about $30, unlocked.
I also got my old number moved to the new carrier (we have a law in Poland that says the new carrier must give the customer their old number if that's the way the customer wants it).
No fee for joining.
No cancellation fee at the old carrier (it only exists for people who cancel before X time after signing the contract).

From what I've also heard, people in the US still get charged for receiving calls, though not sure if it's true...

After reading this stuff posted here, you guys in the US have it messed up a bit...

[Ghostavo]

However, upon further googling, the issue here is that unlocking a cellphone is a crime, not just a breach of contract. That is indeed wrong!

are you sure about that?  but even if so, this petition is about forcing carriers by law to allow unlocking, not just removing it from the books as a crime.

Make Unlocking Cell Phones Legal.

The Librarian of Congress decided in October 2012 that unlocking of cell phones would be removed from the exceptions to the DMCA.

(...)

We ask that the White House ask the Librarian of Congress to rescind this decision, and failing that, champion a bill that makes unlocking permanently legal.