

Lawmakers look to legalize cellphone unlocking - joelhaus
http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/286373-lawmakers-look-to-legalize-cellphone-unlocking

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joelhaus
Hope this serves as a reminder to the cynical commenters in yesterday's thread
for the White House petition response. Your representatives are listening.

While the situation can sometimes feel hopeless, particularly with the large
sums of money pouring into the pockets of politicians from industry lobbies,
that money is only as good as the votes it can buy. A vocal constituency is
capable of putting fear into the hearts of their elected officials.

It turns out that the White House petition app _is_ an excellent tool to bring
attention to an issue. In my eyes, this will be the first big win for the tech
community since PIPA/SOPA and l'm looking forward to see what's next (prohibit
states from outlawing municipal broadband buildouts?). Thanks again to those
who won't allow themselves to be victims of their circumstance and for taking
action. Our democracy is a system that requires our active participation for
success, and while it will never be perfect, we owe it to our ancestors and
future generations to stay engaged.

~~~
pasbesoin
They've latched onto a throw-away issue for some cheap goodwill. They are
proposing to permit unlocking _outside_ of service contract terms and limits.
This causes some discomfort for their telco buddies, but it is relatively
minor, and the telcos continue to receive other goodwill from the
Administration and Congress that far outweighs this.

And, this comes at a time when Congress et al. are effectively doing squat
about the sequester and many other more significant, and/or time critical,
issues.

I have a _completely_ cynical opinion of this latest "action" by the
Administration and Congress. It is _entirely_ self-serving. They are doing you
no favors; rather, they are simply attempting to buy some cheap goodwill.

