The Senate committee has approved a mobile phone unlocking bill

The US Senate Judiciary Committee has voted to approve legislation that would allow mobile phone owners to unlock their devices for the purposes of switching carriers. The committee, with a unanimous voice vote Thursday, approved an amended version of the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act and sent the bill to the full Senate. Consumer groups and other advocates have called on Congress to pass a mobile phone unlocking bill after a Library of Congress action in January 2013 removed legal protections for mobile phone unlocking. The library had previously allowed phone unlocking as an exception to the security circumvention provisions in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. “Consumers should be able to use their existing cell phones when they move their service to a new wireless provider,” committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, said in a statement. “I hope the full Senate can soon take up this important legislation that supports consumer rights.”

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted unanimously Thursday to advance legislation that would legalize cell-phone unlocking, which would make it easier for consumers to switch providers without buying a new phone. The House passed similar legislation earlier this year. “Consumers should be able to use their existing cell phones when they move their service to a new wireless provider,” said Sen. Patrick Leahy, the committee chairman and sponsor of the legislation. “With today’s strong bipartisan vote in the Judiciary Committee, I hope the full Senate can soon take up this important legislation that supports consumer rights.” Most contract cell phones come “locked” to one carrier. Because of a decision by the U.S. Copyright Office in 2012, customers must obtain their carrier’s permission to legally unlock their phones to switch to a competitor—even after they have completed their contract. The decision prompted an immediate public backlash, and more than 114,000 people signed a White House petition in protest. The Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act, which is cosponsored by the committee’s top Republican, Chuck Grassley, would overturn the office’s decision. The bill would also direct the office to consider whether to allow unlocking of other devices, such as tablets. Consumer groups such as Public Knowledge and the Electronic Frontier Foundation support the bill, although they have also pushed for broader legislation that would amend the underlying copyright law.