What Should Congress Do about Cell Phone Unlocking?

June 17, 2013 – 12:00pm to 1:30pm

Should copyright law stop you from unlocking your cell phone? Join TechFreedom and the Competitive Enterprise Institute on June 17 at noon for a luncheon discussion on cell phone unlocking and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

The Librarian of Congress decided late last year to end an exemption permitting the unlocking of mobile devices so that, for example, consumers could transfer their phone from one carrier to another. Should Congress restore the exemption, which existed from 2006 to 2012? Should Congress revisit the DMCA’s anti-circumvention provisions or the process for granting and renewing extensions? What about U.S. treaty obligations? Is cell phone unlocking a one-off issue, or a bellwether for future copyright debates? Panelists will discuss these questions, and more. Panelists will be announced shortly.

You can follow the conversation on Twitter on the #Unlocking hashtag. You can also join the Facebook event to see who else will be coming—but please RSVP . You can watch C-SPAN’s livestream of the event here or below.