Bill would guarantee ability to unlock smartphones, tablets In a move cheered by consumer advocates, a group of bipartisan legislators has introduced a bill in Congress that would ensure that users have the ability to unlock their smartphones and tablets in order to switch carriers. The Unlocking Technology Act of 2013 (H.R. 1892) is co-sponsored by Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose), Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Anna G. Eshoo (D-Menlo Park) and Jared Polis (D-Colo). "This bill reflects the way we use this technology in our everyday lives," Lofgren said in a news release. Americans should not be subject to fines and criminal liability for merely unlocking devices and media they legally purchased. If consumers are not violating copyright or some other law, there's little reason to hold back the benefits of unlocking so people can continue using their devices. The bill would amend the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) to make it clear that unlocking phones or tablets does not violate rules against modifying copyrighted works. At the moment, Section 1201 of the DMCA blocks users from going around any technologies meant to prevent them from doing things like "jailbreaking" their phones to run someone else's app, for instance, or unlocking the phone so it can be used with a different carrier. The Copyright Office can change the rules in this area every three years. In fact, in 2010, the office lifted the rules and allowed cellphone unlocking. Then it reinstated the ban on unlocking in 2013. According to the sponsors, the Unlocking Technology Act would create a permanent exemption to the DMCA to make it legal for consumers to unlock their phones so they don't need to ask permission of carriers to switch to a new carrier. This bipartisan bill not only makes it clear that consumers can, of course, unlock their phones without fear of legal repercussions; it also addresses a longstanding problem with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). For too long, the DMCA has been a barrier to consumers, educators, researchers, and others, in ways that don't even protect artists," said Sherwin Siy, vice president of legal affairs for Public Knowledge, a consumer advocacy group. Legal uses of copyrighted works shouldn't become illegal through a technicality, and fixing this flaw in the law prevents manufacturers from locking consumers in to particular products and service plans, as well as giving people the freedom to use their own media and devices in common sense ways. Samsung mulls over Galaxy smartphone with 16-megapixel camera