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How to Help Keep iPhone Jailbreaking Legal

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There was a time when jailbreaking your iPhone meant that you were breaking the law. Prior to a ruling in July of 2010, it was, in fact, illegal to do such a thing. That ruling though, which was made by the United States government, dictated that jailbreaking an iPhone or rooting an Android device was perfectly legal. Thing is, when the government ruled that jailbreaking was not in violation of  Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), it merely made these devices an exemption.

That exemption, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), is going to expire and that would mean that jailbreaking could once again become illegal.

What would this mean?

First and foremost, it would mean that breaking the chains that Apple and some Android manufacturers put on around their devices would become a criminal act, a criminal act that would come with penalties. Apple, above all, would love to see this happen as it went and still goes to great lengths to keep its eco-system locked down.

iPhone 4S

Ever wonder why your friends who have jailbroken their iPhones have to wait longer to get major iOS updates on their phone? It’s because Apple likes to patch up iOS and kill the hard work of these hackers.

Think of it like a game of cat and mouse.

And secondly, it would mean that many who have grown accustomed to taking full control of their device, might have to shy away from doing so because of the penalties that would be attached to jailbreaking should the exemption expire.

A lot of you would have a hard time saying goodbye to customizing your iPhone and you’d probably have an even harder time watching the freedom you’ve enjoyed with the device you purchased walk off into the sunset.

We should also mention that many developers make a living on the apps that they bring to Cydia, the third-party App Store for jailbroken users, would likely see a loss of income.

What the EFF is proposing is that you make your voice heard by sending comments to the U.S. Copyright Office, the same office that was responsible for putting the exemption into place.

It’s also proposing that the exemption be applied to tablets, the iPad is currently not covered, and video game consoles.

So if you’re interested, whether it’s because you like jailbreaking your devices or you just want the option of doing so, head over to the EFF’s website where you can find the full instructions on how to help keep jailbreaking legal.

Via: Redmond Pie

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