The Most Ridiculous Law of 2013 (So Far): It Is Now a Crime to Unlock Your Smartphone - Derek Khanna. When did we decide that we wanted a law that could make unlocking your smartphone a criminal offense? The answer is that we never really decided. Reuters This is now the law of the land: PENALTY: In some situations, first time offenders may be fined up to $500,000, imprisoned for five years, or both. That's right, starting this weekend it is illegal to unlock new phones to make them available on other carriers. I have deep sympathy for any individual who happens to get jail time for this offense. But seriously: It's embarrassing and unacceptable that we are at the mercy of prosecutorial and judicial discretion** to avoid the implementation of draconian laws that could implicate average Americans in a crime subject to up to a $500,000 fine and up to five years in prison. When did we decide that we wanted a law that could make unlocking your smartphone a criminal offense?
The answer is that we never really decided. There are numerous other problems with the DMCA. Quick, Hide the BlackBerry, It’s Too Uncool. “I’m ashamed of it,” said Ms. Crosby, a Los Angeles sales representative who said she had stopped pulling out her BlackBerry at cocktail parties and conferences. In meetings, she says she hides her BlackBerry beneath her for fear clients will see it and judge her. The BlackBerry was once proudly carried by the high-powered and the elite, but those who still hold one today say the device has become a magnet for mockery and derision from those with iPhones and the latest Android phones. may still be successful selling BlackBerrys in countries like India and Indonesia, but in the United States the company is clinging to less than 5 percent of the smartphone market — down from a dominating 50 percent just three years ago. The company’s future all depends on a much-delayed new phone coming next year; meanwhile RIM recorded a net loss of $753 million in the first half of the year compared with a profit of more than $1 billion a year earlier.
“I want to take a bat to it,” Ms. Mr. EDDMapS - Invasive Species Mapping Made Easy. America’s New Mobile Majority: a Look at Smartphone Owners in the U.S. Generation App: 62% of Mobile Users 25-34 own Smartphones. More US Consumers Choosing Smartphones as Apple Closes the Gap on Android.