Main » 2010 » July » 27 » US government legalizes iPhone 'jailbreaking,' unlocking
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US government legalizes iPhone 'jailbreaking,' unlocking
appleinsider.com
The U.S. government on Monday announced new rules that make it
officially legal for iPhone owners to "jailbreak" their device and run
unauthorized third-party applications. In addition, it is now acceptable
to unlock any cell phone for use on multiple carriers.
According to The Associated Press, the government approved a handful of new exemptions
to a federal law that prevents the circumvention of technical measure
that prevent users from accessing and modifying copyrighted works. The
report noted that every three years, the Library of Congress' Copyright
Office authorizes exemptions to ensure existing law does not prevent
non-infringing use of copyrighted material.
In addition, another exemption was approved that would allow all cell
phone users to unlock their device for use on an unapproved carrier.
Currently, Apple's iPhone is available exclusively through AT&T, but
unlocking it can allow for voice calls and EDGE data speeds on rival
carrier T-Mobile.
Other exemptions announced Monday allow people to break protections on
video games to investigate or correct security flaws; allow college
professors, film students and documentary filmmakers to break copy
protection measures on DVDs to embed clips for educational purposes,
criticism, commentary and noncommercial videos; and allow computer
owners to bypass the need for external security devices (dongles) if the
hardware no longer works and cannot be replaced.
The warranty-voiding jailbreak process allows users to run software not
approved by Apple, which has no plans to allow users to install
third-party applications downloaded from outside its sanctioned App
Store. Hackers have created their own custom applications -- many free,
and some for purchase from an alternative storefront known as Cydia.
Apple has been criticized
for its strict control over the iPhone App Store, requiring that all
applications be approved before they are made available for download.
The company has defended this practice, stating that it keeps faulty and
potentially dangerous software from being made available, as well as
banning unsavory content such as pornography.
In April, Jobs cited an unsanctioned pornography store
available for the Google Android platform as a reason to not support
unsigned applications. "That's a place we don't want to go," Jobs said,
"so we're not going to."
In addition to allowing access to legitimate third-party software, both
free and paid, through services like Cydia, jailbreaking can also be
used to pirate App Store software, one major reason why Apple has fought the practice.
Hackers have been hard at work
on jailbreaking iOS 4 since it was released in June. Though the iPhone
3GS and iPhone 3G have been exploited, the iPhone Dev Team has continued
their efforts toward both jailbreaking and unlocking the iPhone 4. With
Monday's decision by the U.S. government, their efforts are now
considered legal.
