A White House petition calling on the Library of Congress to make cell phone unlocking legal again has caught the attention of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
The FCC is now looking into the ban to see if it negatively affects “competition” and “innovation,” according to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski.
The regulatory is unaware if it has any power to change the rule, but on Wednesday, Genachowski told TechCrunch, “It’s something that we will look at at the FCC to see if we can and should enable consumers to use unlocked phones.”
The power to change the rule more directly lies with Congress and the Librarian of Congress. Under the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) the Librarian of Congress was authorized to issue exemptions to the law, which bans technology that violates copy write laws. Previously the Librarian of Congress had opted not to criminalize the unlocking of cell phones, but changed his mind late last year.
The punishment for unlocking cell phones is harsh. Anyone found guilty could face up to five years in prison and be fined up to $500,000.
After several angry consumers became aware of the new ban, they brought the media’s attention to the issue and created a White House petition to make unlocking cell phones legal again. The petition has now exceeded the 100,000 signature threshold and is awaiting the White House’s response.
The White House is required to respond to any petition that exceeds 100,000 signatures.
“This prohibition is a violation of our property rights, and it makes you wonder, if you can’t alter the settings on your phone, do you even own your own phone?” asked Derek Khanna, the young conservative who uncovered the new ban.
Sina Khanifar, who started the petition, told Red Alert Politics that “the consequences of this are fewer choices and increased restrictions to freedoms we currently take for granted.”
The FCC likely doesn’t have the authority to negate the ban – not does the White House – but the fact that it also finds fault with the regulation is an encouraging sign and a move that could cause the Librarian of Congress to rethink his decision.
