The carriers claim it is illegal, and there is no longer a DMCA exemption stating that it is not a violation of the DMCA.
That does not make it illegal to unlock a phone. Is there any case law supporting the notion that unlocking a phone actually is a DMCA violation, or just the carriers claiming that it is (possibly in settled lawsuits)?
This EFF article on the state of DMCA and cell phone unlocking does not mention any case law validating the idea that unlocking is actually a violation: https://www.eff.org/is-it-illegal-to-unlock-a-phone
It does cite case law that points in the direction that the DMCA is only triggered when the lock protects a creative work, which cell phone access may not be. Considering how carefully the EFF tracks these things, if there was case law supporting the carriers' (and possibly executive branch's) position, they would mention it.
That does not make it illegal to unlock a phone. Is there any case law supporting the notion that unlocking a phone actually is a DMCA violation, or just the carriers claiming that it is (possibly in settled lawsuits)?