Here's a little known fact: James H. Billington, the librarian of Congress, can declare common digital technology uses illegal. This means Americans could be doing illegal things with devices like their cellphones without knowing they’re breaking the law. Cellphone "unlocking," for example, is illegal, thanks to the librarian of Congress.
But until Jan. 26,
cellphone unlocking was perfectly legal. Unlocking refers to a technique
routinely used by millions of Europeans and Asians to switch their phones,
which they own, to different carriers. Here, recall that when the iPhone was
first introduced, only AT&T provided service, so Verizon and Sprint
customers would “unlock” an iPhone they purchased to use their preferred
carrier……But the librarian of Congress decreed – in yet another bureaucratic
ruling not approved beforehand by Congress – that unlocking is a felony,
punishable by up to five years in prison and a $500,000 fine.….Unlocking was
banned, Khanna said, because cellphone service carriers wanted a legal barrier
to new competitors. ….To Read More….. .
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