It's January 26, 2013.  This means that, among other things, it's now illegal in the United States to unlock a carrier-locked UE (ie, phone, tablet, etc.) without the provider's consent.  See accurate coverage here and here.

Unfortunately, lots of people and online news sources seem to be spreading misinformation about this.  They say incorrectly that "jailbreaking and unlocking is illegal on Jan. 26."  Wrong!  jailbreaking of iOS devices is completely separate from unlocking, although one often leads individuals to do the other.  It is still legal to jailbreak or root your UE, although this may void the warranty of the specific device.

This law is, of course, thanks to the DMCA.

New comments are currently disabled for this entry.