Will rooting your smartphone be illegal soon?
Because of its open source nature, there are a lot of developers who are attracted to Android. This is why there is a strong force of tireless developers who comprise the Android modding community. Because of their cooperation with one another, they look forward to enriching each Android user’s experience by providing software mods and roots.
Sad to say, this whole ecosystem is at risk for extinction. Now that the jailbreaking (and rooting) exempted law formerly granted by the US Copyright Office is about to expire, those who jailbreak or root the software or their smartphones are facing legal threats and even criminal charges.
Fortunately, the Electronic Frontier Foundation is doing something against this. They are also collating supporters to help them renew the law that will keep modders and hackers out of prison. And they’re not stopping at just smartphones. They’re also pushing to include video game consoles and tablets in the exemption. Since they were the ones who filed for the original exemption 3 years ago, they have the experience to back them up.
Here’s a message from Rebecca Jeschke, EFF’s Media Relations Director and Digital Right Analyst:
“The law was never intended to limit legal activity with a device that was legally bought. It’s not good policy for consumers. The idea that you might face criminal charges because you altered your own property is totally unfair. The goal here is to make the law really clear.”
When the exemption was first introduced in 2010, Apple put up a good fight against it (that really didn’t surprise anyone). But it did worry its iOS users because Apple’s legal team is always on the hunt for stuff like this one.
If you want to join this cause, you can sign up for the petition by visiting jailbreakingisnotacrime.org.
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