[Follow-Up] Senator Amy Klobuchar Intoduces Bill to Legalize Unlocking Cell Phones

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We have a follow-up article to share with you today regarding the movement to make it legal to unlock your cell phone. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) has taken up the call to action following the White House's response yesterday affirming their desire to see this happen. She has just introduced a bill to address the issue, and intends to "get rid of the ban on unlocking cellphones." The FCC Chairman agrees with this action. Here's a quote with a few more details,

In a separate statement issued following the White House's official response, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski agreed with overturning the ban, saying that "from a communications policy perspective, this raises serious competition and innovation concerns, and for wireless consumers, it doesn't pass the common sense test." Both the White House and the FCC suggested that legislative action could resolve the issue.

That legislative action will arrive this week, and while there's no guarantee it will pass — Senator Klobuchar has not announced any cosponsors yet — it could ride on early support from the White House. "Consumers should be free to choose the phone and service that best fits their needs and their budgets," the senator said today. "We need to make sure consumers are getting a fair deal and today's announcement is a welcome step towards implementing consumer-friendly policies in the wireless industry."

It's actually rather surprising that things are moving so swiftly. It was barely two weeks ago when the petition was first sent to the White House to get the ban lifted. Now, only a day after the White House's response, a Senator is taking action to change things. Of course, we will have to see if the bill passes through the House before we can call anything a victory, but at least the ball is rolling.

Source: TheVerge