White House Wants Ban Lifted on Cell Phone Locking - with Key Caveat

Faced with over 114,000 signatures on a petition and an outcry from consumers – the Obama administration is now pushing to legalize cell phone unlocking.

A new White House statement goes against an earlier stand by the Library of Congress which approved a ban on cell phone unlocking. Those found guilty of the ban – as of now – could end up in prison for five years and pay up to $500,000 in fines.

There is a key caveat, though. It appears the White House backs unlocking of cell phones only if consumers have finished a contract with a provider. The statement from the White House simply says, “if you have paid for your mobile device, and aren't bound by a service agreement or other obligation, you should be able to use it on another network.”

“It’s silent on whether it supports a consumer’s decision to unlock their phone in the middle of their contract,” according to a report from the National Journal. “This omission doesn’t help the petitioners, whose campaign is predicated on consumers being legally justified in unlocking a phone whenever they want — not just when they've reached the end of their contract. In fact, according to Amy Storey, a spokeswoman for the wireless industry, carriers are perfectly willing to sell you a phone on contract that comes unlocked. They’re also willing to let you unlock your phone without breaking your agreement. So while the statement expresses solidarity with the petitioners, it also echoes many of the points industry has been making.”

Still, the White House statement from policy advisor R. David Edelman, does say, “The White House agrees with the 114,000+ of you who believe that consumers should be able to unlock their cell phones without risking criminal or other penalties. In fact, we believe the same principle should also apply to tablets, which are increasingly similar to smart phones.”

As of January 26, consumers can’t unlock cell phones for use on a different network without carrier permission, even after their contract expired, the petition said – based on the earlier Library of Congress action.

But there’s more. Now, the Library of Congress appears open to changes in policy from the government. In a new statement from the Library of Congress it said it agrees with the White House that “the question of locked cell phones has implications for telecommunications policy and that it would benefit from review and resolution in that context.” It added that the rulemaking which led to the ban “serves a very important function, but it was not intended to be a substitute for deliberations of broader public policy.”