Petition Gets Obama to Back Unlocking Cell Phones

(NEWSER) – It now takes 100,000 signatures to get an official White House response to a We the People petition—and angry cell phone users got more than 114,000 after it became illegal to unlock your cell phone on Jan. 26. That's the day the Librarian of Congress ruled that unlocking is a copyright violation, even if it's done after any contract with a carrier has expired, and punishable by up to five years in prison and a $500,000 fine.

The petition demanded the decision be rescinded, and the White House agrees, Politico reports. "Consumers should be able to unlock their cell phones without risking criminal or other penalties. In fact, we believe the same principle should also apply to tablets, which are increasingly similar to smart phones," reads the official response.

Read more at Newser.com