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Jailbreak iPad and Unlocking the iPhone are now ‘Illegal’ under the DMCA

Jailbreak iPad 4, mini and older iPads about to become illegal - The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) states that, under United States law, it’s illegal to bypass digital rights belonging to consumer devices and software. On October 25^th, the exemptions to the act were modified and revise - specifically the ones that encompass the act of jailbreaking iOS-based iPads and unlocking iPhones.

Back when the 2010 exemptions were modified, the process to jailbreak and unlock was considered completely legal. However, the new revisions to the DMCA are about to change everything.

Jailbreak iPhones with iOS 6.0 firmware Legal, but not iPads

Thankfully, the revision to the DMCA protect the exemption that was put in place in 2010, which lawfully permits the circumvention of, “computer programs that enable wireless telephone handsets to execute lawfully obtained software applications, where circumvention is accomplished for the sole purpose of enabling interoperability…”. Essentially, that clause allows customers to bypass the standard operating system to install “lawfully obtained” third-party applications or to jailbreak their iPhones (“telephone handsets”).

While jailbreaking one’s iPhone is still considered legal, it’s a different story for Apple’s line of iPad tablets. According to the Librarian of Congress, the position that has the power to grant exemptions, the iPad is categorized as a tablet, which is a vague an “ill-defined” product category. For instance, a portable electronic device as simple as an eReader to one as complex as a laptop could technically be considered a tablet. Unfortunately, it’s because “tablets”  lack a narrow and categorizable definition that the process of jailbreaking a device such as the iPad is now technically illegal.

Moreover, the DMCA will change the legality of unlocking the iPhone, or any smartphone, come January of 2013. In 2006 and 2010, the exemptions outlined in the act expressly stated that unlocking a cellphone and using it under another carrier is permitted. However, the Librarian of Congress had a change of heart this year due to a simple fact. When customers purchase software or a device, they don’t entirely own it, but rather license it according to the terms specified in the End User License Agreement. Unlocking apparently undermines and infringes upon the End User License Agreement.

The new exemptions and revision to the DMCA will take effect tomorrow, October 28^th, and customers who purchase their iPhones prior to January of 2013 will be able to legally unlock. Unfortunately, if a smartphone or an iPhone is purchased after that date, it will be considered “illegal” to unlock their device without the explicated permission of the original carrier.

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