Cell Phone Unlocking to Get a Reprieve Under Proposed Senate Bill

There was some brief rejoicing around Washington on March 11, when Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) announced legislation that would order the Librarian of Congress to reconsider the decision that makes it a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to unlock a cell phone without the permission of the carrier. Previously, the Librarian had exempted cell phone unlocking from the DMCA, but in January made a puzzling ruling that changed all that.