Jailbreaking Phones Now Legally Acceptable in USA
The term ‘jailbreaking’ refers to the process of modifying a mobile phone’s operating system in order to run alternative software or change its abilities in a way that the manufacturer doesn’t allow, and is commonly associated with the iPhone, although it could also be applied to removing a ‘lock’ put in place by your network too.
Apple have always said the process is illegal in the USA under something called the Digital Millenium Copyright Act, however the US government disagree. The DMCA is reviewed every three years and at the latest meeting to discuss any changes, jailbreaking and unlocking was ruled as being ‘fair use’ and therefore, legal.
Now, just because this has happened, it doesn’t mean that the US government have suddenly decided that installing pirated software on your iPhone is OK, rather than legitimate software made by a third party that’s not been approved by the manufacturer. The keyword they used in their statement was ‘interoperability’.
Obviously this will not change Apple’s mind on the issue, and we’d be surprised if they would be keen to offer warranty cover on jailbroken iPhones, nor does it apply in the UK, but it is refreshing to see a governmental decision come down on the side of the consumer rather than that of the mega-huge corporation.
We’d be interested to know, have you jailbroken your iPhone? If so, why?