New government rules announced today are a major step forward in undoing some of the more draconian policies introduced by the DMCA in 1998. Before today, it was illegal to “jailbreak” phones—a popular example being the ability to run applications Apple has not approved for their iPhone. This is a huge victory for the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), which has been lobbying for changes to the 1998 law for some time.
Jennifer Stisa Granick, EFF’s civil liberties director, said that this move is based on the fact that users should be able to modify their devices. “If you bought it, you own it,” she commented.
However, the new rules do not prevent Apple from disabling jailbroken iPhones. They simply prevent Apple from taking legal action against those that take that route.
Other exemptions announced today include:
- Cell phone owners can jailbreak their phones to be used with other wireless carriers
- Users can break protections on video games in the event of security flaws.
- Professors and film-makers can break copyright protections on DVDs in order to interject commentary for education purposes and critiques.
- Users can bypass broken dongles.
- Those that are visually impaired can circumvent security measures on electronic readers to allow the use of read-aloud software.
This is a huge step in the right direction for users that wish to change or modify their devices in the face of restrictive carrier policies. Apple in particular has been flagged for their highly unpredictable and heavy handed policies in approving new applications for the App Store. While this measure will still allow Apple to disable jailbroken phones, it is hopefully the first step on a path to allowing users to more freely change their phones.
Perhaps more importantly than allowing users to use unapproved software is the ability for users to unlock phones for other carriers. iPhone users in particular have long complained about dropped calls and slow responses with AT&T’s service, and many have longed for the day when the iPhone would come to another provider.
Another important group that should be high-fiving today are video artists and people who create remixes and mashups for sites like YouTube. According to the ruling, it is no longer illegal to circumvent copy protection if you’re going to use the video for critique or educational purposes.
The DMCA is a horribly over-arching law that makes nearly every consumer of media in the United States a criminal. It’s insanely refreshing to know that not everybody in the federal government is completely ignorant of the reality of modern technology. Hopefully this ruling paves the way for further “common sense” relaxation of the draconian measure.
Articles RSS