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The Electronic Frontier Foundation said in that it would fight to the keep legal any procedures that allow consumers to customize their smartphones or tablets. They filed a petition with the Library of Congress and Copyright office to extend and expand exemption to all consumers to “jailbreak” their phones without contradicting the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. This is a frustrating process since the EFF has to reargue their case every three years in order to keep the exemption.

Despite it’s name, “jailbreaking” is beneficial when it comes to security. After a device has stopped being supported by a manufacturer, jailbreaking can allow users to install security updates from third parties that will allow them to use the device without worrying about it becoming compromised. Sadly, as the DMCA stands for protecting the copyright of the device software, it has gotten in the way of creating secondary uses, discouraging competition. Reform must be in place and the exemption must be extended indefinitely in this case. Otherwise, it’s just buying a tool and getting sued for making the most use of it.

For more on this story, click here:: EFF: ‘Jailbreaking is not a crime’ and we will fight to keep it that way’
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