Government Does Something Right For a Change
By chasef. Filed in General |Tags: Apple, DMCA, iPhone, Jailbreak, law
Looks horribly illegal, doesn't it?
Well, it’s about damned time. There’s been some controversy over jailbreaking/rooting (essentially the same thing – usually just applied to Apple & Android devices, respecitvely) smartphone devices in the past so it’s a breath of fresh air for me that, finally, someone in a position to do anything about it had a moment of clarity. Apple, among others, has trumped up all sorts of excuses for trying to keep people out of their phone software, the nonsense ranging from disrupting cellular networks to encouraging criminal activity.
The moment of clarity: Jailbreaking/rooting your smartphone is officially NOT a crime. It’s a little odd to hear something like this being done by the Library of Congress, but they’re the group that oversees the Copyright Office, so it makes sense since these new rules are part of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act.
Now, mind you, yes…there’ll always be people who use this for some nefarious purpose. Just like VCR’s have been used since the freaking ’70′s (there were legal issues regarding the VCR then, too – and the government decided they’re fine for private use…which actually became a significant source of income for film companies).
Personally, I jailbreak my phone so I can put themes on it. Apple seems to have something against multiple sounds, backgrounds, icons, etc. on their iDevices – which baffles me because Apple’s all about design flair. And, on the rare occasion that I’ve downloaded a cracked app, it was to see if it was worth buying. When I found that it was worth keeping, I bloody paid for it (yes, paying for even a .99¢ app sticks in my craw if I’m not going to want to keep it.)
In short, this is a good thing. (I pick on Apple here because I don’t have any Android, etc. devices). It doesn’t encourage criminal behavior – it simply allows owners of smartphones to run third-party applications and customize their devices beyond what the manufacturer says should be. Considering the quagmired nature of the Apple App Store, this is a godsend. If some sad soul with his/her finger over the DENIED button arbitrarily decides your app magically doesn’t meet some approval criteria and denies you, there’s at least a now legal alternative.
Odds are, this won’t change anything in the slightest as the people who want to jailbreak their phones likely already have and the people who don’t simply…won’t. Still, it’s good to know someone in a Federal position is able to think straight and in a modern light. And I can’t wait to see what Apple’s response to this will be. They’re gonna get in a tizzy, no doubt. Funny…shouldn’t they be working on allowing their phones to be held…however we want and instead of “the correct way?”
(via NPR)
