White House Petitions FCC to Make Unlocking Cell Phones (and Tablets) Legal

Americans should be able to use mobile devices they bought on whatever networks they choose. That's what the White House believes, as it filed a petition to the FCC on Tuesday, requesting that the federal regulatory agency "immediately initiate the process of setting rules" that will allow consumers to unlock their devices without fear of punishment.

Unlocking cell phones became illegal in January of this year, when an exemption to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, allowing cellphone unlocking, expired. This is not the first time the Obama administration stated that it thought consumers should be allowed to own unlocked cell phones, which allow consumers to move from wireless provider to wireless provider without carriers' expressed permission.

Earlier in March, the Obama administration encouraged bill proposals and committee meetings about the issue, when it stated that consumers should be allowed to use unlocked cell phones. The move to petition the FCC on Tuesday appears to be an attempt to reinvigorate calls for legislation, as the FCC itself has stated that it supports legal cellphone unlocking as well, according to the Washington Post.

The White House's petition was also a response to a "We the People" citizen petition on Whitehouse.gov, which was filed after an October ruling by the Library of Congress's Copyright Office said that it would end the exemption to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act that allowed cell phone unlocking on January 26, 2013. That petition detailed the crux of the matter, stating:

"As of January 26, consumers will no longer be able unlock their phones for use on a different network without carrier permission, even after their contract has expired. Consumers will be forced to pay exorbitant roaming fees to make calls while traveling abroad. It reduces consumer choice, and decreases the resale value of devices that consumers have paid for in full. The Librarian noted that carriers are offering more unlocked phones at present, but the great majority of phones sold are still locked. 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."

Neither a rescindment to the exemption's expiration nor a bill has been forthcoming so far, but the White House's most recent petition, formally filed by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (part of the U.S. Dept. of Commerce), expanded the request to tablets as well as smartphones.

"Americans should be able to use their mobile devices on whatever networks they choose and have their devices unlocked without hassle," said Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and NTIA Administrator Lawrence E. Strickling in the press release regarding the petition. The petition itself asked for a rule that "would require a provider... upon request, to unlock any wireless device furnished by that provider, so that the requesting person may use that device in conjunction with another lawfully obtained commercial mobile service."

Now, the unlocking fight may go to congress, where the Obama administration actually has allies on the other side of the aisle, in Republican representatives like Bob Goodlatte of Virginia and Jason Chaffetz of Utah, as well as Democratic support.