Great news to all you rogues, villains, and malefactors that enjoying jailbreaking iPhones and using apps that aren’t approved by Apple — you’re all legit now! According to the Associated Press:
Owners of the iPhone will be able to legally break electronic locks on their devices in order to download software applications that haven’t been approved by Apple Inc., according to new government rules announced Monday.
Perhaps I’m missing something here, but was it ever illegal to jailbreak your iPhone and use unapproved apps? Are there prisons full of people that used QuickPWN and Redsn0w just so that they could get Google Voice on their iPhone 3GS handsets? The wording seems funny to me. In related news, the government rules also cover the following:
- Allow owners of used cell phones to break access controls on their phones in order to switch wireless carriers.
- Allow people to break technical protections on video games to investigate or correct security flaws.
- Allow college professors, film students and documentary filmmakers to break copy-protection measures on DVDs so they can embed clips for educational purposes, criticism, commentary and noncommercial videos.
- Allow computer owners to bypass the need for external security devices called dongles if the dongle no longer works and cannot be replaced.
Seriously, are any of you iPhone felons? Am I going to serve time for aiding and abetting?
that would be me! Since this is now legal does this mean jailbreaks will be coming out faster? Wouldn't Apple have to almost share the software or firmware specs with jailbreakers since they are not performing anything illegal?
I don't think they have to share if they don't want to.
That third point is huge!! Copyright laws are a mess, and that will be a huge advantage for a lot of college professors and film students that I know. However, that means that the people who have to take the media law class in the Journalism and T-comm departments here at BSU will have to buy a quickly updated textbook for next semester. They won't teach old laws, and I can think of tons of sections in my old media law book that would have to be rewritten in order to be relevant and useful.
copyright law in general is ridiculous the way it is. DMCA is a pain.
I don't think that technically jailbreaking was ever illegal, but I know that there weren't laws spelled out before this happened.
It is funny though, I can imagine a cop stopping me as I pass by to say, "excuse me sir, but is that iPhone jailbroken? You're going to have to come with me.
The really good news here is for software developers. Guys like George Hotz and Jay Freeman can sleep easy at night I suppose.
Ok, I did a bit of background check on this story. It turns out that Apple Inc. was trying to get some kind of legal thing passed where tampering with their proprietary (and patented) hardware (and/or software, I guess) would be considered a criminal offense.
Obviously, whoever was presiding over this case was all like; "Hell no, it's a computer and when a consumer buys it, they can do whatever the hell they want with it… unless they are like, renting it from you or something."
I'm pretty sure those were the judges' exact words.
-M
@iceman
ha! that would be teh awesumz if that was a direct quote from the judge.
another one would be. aw hell no. If i let Apple win i'l have to re-lock my phone to att's shityy network!
LOL @ Tokz
-M