If you purchased a cell phone after January of this year, it is now illegal – and worse criminal – to unlock your cell phone.  Cell phone unlocking is not new, a quietly practiced process by many consumers enabling them to change cell phone carriers at will without having to purchase a new mobile phone.  Unlocked cell phones also allow users to swap out SIM cards, a practice that can lead to tremendous phone bill savings when traveling overseas.

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which passed Congress in 1998, prohibits consumers from circumventing technological restrictions on what they can do with the music, DVDs, software and even cell phones.  The debate is on, as many consumers feel they should be able to use their purchased tech in any way they please.  For more information see the full article featured in the Washington Post.