Public Knowledge Comment on Leahy Phone Unlocking Bill

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Background: Today, Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced a bill that would overturn the Library of Congress' decision that prevents cell phone unlocking. The bill would require the Library of Congress to rescind and reconsider its current rule on unlocking.

The following can be attributed to Chris Lewis, Vice President of Government Affairs:

"We're glad that Chairman Leahy recognizes that the Library of Congress' decision was untenable. However, this only serves as, at best, a three-year band-aid on the larger problem. Furthermore, the bill does not require that the Library reach a different decision on unlocking.

"Public Knowledge supports legislation that permanently codifies an exemption for unlocking, and a broader discussion around further reform of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's anticicumvention provisions that created this problem in the first place."

The bill can be read here.