When You Can't Even 'Unlock' Your Cell Phone

Derek Khanna follows up his blockbuster article at The Atlantic on how "unlocking" your cell phone is now illegal with a post detailing how this decision harms business, violates common sense and is an insult to consumers. (There's a petition calling on the White House to request the decision's reversal. You can sign it here.)

The DMCA was initially set up to help stop piracy. So what, you might wonder, does piracy have to do with unlocking your phone? Very little. The law made it illegal to use technology to circumvent digital protection technology.

The Librarian of Congress, who has power to grant exceptions to the law, has kept seemingly harmless activities illegal. For example, a court can shut down a blog or website simply for discussing the techniques and procedures on how to back up a DVD to your home PC (and they have done so).

This is remarkable considering that in the Pentagon Papers case the Supreme Court ruled that a court cannot order an injunction to prevent the release of classified documents unless under extraordinary circumstances in which the government can demonstrate "grave and irreparable danger" to the public interest. So, releasing classified documents: allowed. But discussing how to back-up DVDs and unlocking phones: illegal.

Some have argued that prohibiting unlocking phones is important to enforce contract law. But the DMCA is concerned with protecting copyrights. It has nothing to do with enforcing contract law. The law is being co-opted to serve the interests of one or two phone companies. And the contract argument is specious, even if you unlock your phone, you are still under contract with your cellphone provider, unlocking your phone has nothing to do with contract law and everything to do with basic property rights.

We must ask ourselves: "What specific limitations upon our personal freedom and liberty are we prepared to accept in the name of achieving the goal of protecting intellectual property?" Some limitations may be sound, and Congress should debate them on the record. Obviously, we do not have the right to copy books, movies and music and sell them.

But other restrictions are invasive and have nothing to do with protecting intellectual property (like unlocking and jail-breaking your phone or adaptive technology for the blind to read). Restrictions upon the use of technology should receive strict legislative scrutiny because of its impact upon innovation and our personal freedom.