There was a time when jailbreaking your iPhone meant you were breaking the law. Before a ruling in July 2010, it was actually illegal to do such a thing. Yet this decision by the United States government dictated that it is perfectly legal to jailbreak an iPhone or root an Android device. The thing is, when the government decided that jailbreaking didn’t violate Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), it simply made these devices an exemption.
According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), this exemption is about to expire, which means jailbreaking could once again become illegal.
What does this mean?
First of all, this means that breaking the chains that Apple and some Android manufacturers have placed around their devices will become a criminal act, a criminal offense. First of all, Apple would love to see this continue and still go to great lengths to keep its eco-system locked down.
Have you ever wondered why your friends who have jailbroken their iPhones have to wait longer to get important iOS updates on their phones? This is because Apple likes to patch iOS and kill the hard work of these hackers.
Think of it like a game of cat and mouse.
Secondly, this means that many people who are used to taking full control of their devices may have to hesitate to do so due to penalties for jailbreaking if the exemption expires.
Many of you have a hard time saying goodbye to personalizing your iPhone, and probably even harder to watch the freedom you enjoy with your purchased device take a walk into the sunset.
We should also point out that many developers who make a living off of the apps they bring to Cydia, the third-party App Store for jailbroken users, will likely see a loss of revenue.
What the EFF recommends is that you make your voice heard by posting comments to the US Copyright Office, the same office responsible for enacting the exemption.
It also recommends that the exemption apply to tablets, iPad not currently covered, and video game consoles.
So, if you’re interested, whether it’s because you love jailbreaking your devices or just want the option to do so, go to: EFF’s website You can find all the instructions on how to help jailbreak stay legal here.
Via: Redmond Cake
